Wandering Child
by Italygirl12
Summary: What if Raoul had not made it to the cemetery when Christine went to pray for her father. What would have happend if the phantom kept christine under his trance during "Wandering Child?"  An E/C story
1. Chapter 1 Wandering Child

**Hi everyone! This is my new fanfic "Wandering Child", I haved Loved Phantom of the Opera for a long time, I love the movie and listen to the music all the time! (I also listen to love never dies as well!). This is my first fanfic so i'm hoping you will all enjoy it. This chapter is more of a set up for what is to come, it takes place at the cemetery and highlights what would have happend if Raoul had not showed up in time to break Christine out of Erik's trance at her fathers grave. Please review, i would love to know what people think and would greatly appreciate you taking the time to read and review! enjoy! (No matter how much I wish I did, I do NOT own anything from the Phantom, the characters and songs belong to ALW.) **

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**Christine's POV

I shifted off the carriage, thanked the man for bringing me to my destination, and handed him a few franks. As the man began to drive off, I slowly turned around to face the dark hollow cemetery where many souls have been set to rest. As I walked through the cemetery I thought of my father. I closed my eyes and imagined him giving me a hug and telling me everything would be all right.

I had come to the cemetery for his advice. I was torn between one of the hardest choices of my life. Do I stay with Raoul and betray my angel of music or do I leave Raoul to be with my angel. They both had their good and bad qualities, the Phantom was my angle of music, he was kind and brave, but that temper of his and all his killings honestly made me more scared of him. Raoul was safe and secure, but he did drink a little too often and sometimes I could the strangest gleam in his eye like he wanted to hurt me which frightened me even more than the Phantom's temper. I began to quietly pray to my father. "Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing, her father promised her that he would send her the angel of music, her father promised her, her father promised her….

_You were once my one companion  
You were all that mattered  
You were once a friend and father  
Then my world was shattered__'__t the curse just die!_

Wishing you were somehow here again  
Wishing you were somehow near  
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed  
Somehow you would be here

Wishing I could hear your voice again  
Knowing that I never would  
Dreaming of you helped me to do  
All that you dreamed I could

Passing bells and sculpted angels, cold and monumental  
Seem for you the wrong companion, you were warm and gentle

Too many years  
Fighting back tears  
Why can

Wishing you were here again  
Knowing we must say goodbye

Try to forgive  
Teach me to live  
Give me the strength to try!

No more memories  
No more silent tears  
No more gazing across the wasted years

help me say goodbye  
help me say goodbye!

I slowly ended up kneeling In front of my father's grave when I began to hear a soft melody playing, something familiar. Then I heard his voice, his beautiful voice.

_Wandering child,  
so lost, so helpless  
Yearning for my guidance_

I began to sing back to him,

_Angel or father?  
Friend or phantom?  
Who is it there, staring?_

_Have you forgotten your Angel?_

_Angel, oh, speak  
What endless longings  
Echo in this whisper! _

_Too long you've wandered in winter  
Far from my fathering gaze..._

Wildly my mind beats against you...

You resist...

_Yet your soul obeys… Yet the soul obeys...  
_

_Angel of Music,  
you denied me I denied you_

_Turning from true beauty!  
Angel of Music!  
Do not shun me my protector!  
Come to your strange Angel... Come to me strange Angel..._

I am your Angel of Music...  
Come to me; Angel of Music...

Suddenly the doors to my father's grave opened and a small light shone through the room. I climbed inside and the doors closed again. Suddenly from behind I felt a hand rest upon my shoulder. I spun around and there was my phantom.

"Phantom" I cried out. How did you get here?"

"I followed you." the phantom replied, "now come there is much to be done."

"Well how are we going to get back to the Opera house?" I asked

"You'll see…" replied the Phantom

(OUTSIDE THE TOMB)

Raoul's horse galloped as fast as it could.

"How dare she how dare she leave so early this morning, and without me! When I get to the cemetery she is going to get it from me." Raoul thought

Soon Raoul approached the graveyard to discover that no one was there, he searched high and low and soon gave up and left while cursing under his breath that the next time he saw Christine would not be pleasant.

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**OK I know there wasn't to much in this chapter, but like I said it's just a set up chapter for the story. I promise that the story will get more interesting after this. I will try to have the next chapter posted either later today or tomorrow! PLEASE REVIEW! I'd love any comments, idea's or constructive critism. Thanks again :) **


	2. Chapter 2 Anger

** Hey everyone! thanks soo much for everyone who is reviewing this story and adding it to their favorites :). keep reviewing and enjoy chapter 2! **

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Christine's POV

I quietly took the Phantom's hand and followed him to a wall in my father's grave. I was surprised when he pulled out one of the bricks in the wall and a set of stairs opened up on the floor. The phantom turned to me and said Angel, don't let go of my hand its dark down there and I wouldn't want you to get lost. We began to ascend the spiral stairwell till we reached the bottom. It was so dark down there I couldn't see my hand right in front of my face. We began moving and thank goodness I never accidentally let go of the phantom because I'd never find my way out. We twisted and turned so many times I was dizzy until we stopped at a dead end. I heard a small click and the brick wall slid to the side, I covered my eyes to the blinding light after being in the dark and it took me a minute to realize we were back in Erik lair.

"How on earth did we get back here?" I asked.

"There was an old shed once built where your father's grave is now, it lead down to these underground pipes. As a child when I was exploring down here I found the passage and followed it all the way to the cemetery." the Phantom replied.

I looked around and saw that not much had changed since I had been gone. I had not been back down here since the night on the roof with Raoul, and that was almost 3 months ago. The only difference was the small dollhouse sized stage that my angel kept to show the plays going on; it was completely empty except for some red fabric and stairs leading up to a stand.

"I'm working on the stage for Don Juan Triumphant," he said as I stood there staring at the design. "It's not really done yet."

There was a small awkward silence that Erik broke after a few minutes.

"So you haven't been around for you lessons in quite some time Christine, are you too busy playing house with that ridiculous Viscount?" The Phantom asked caustically.

I gave him an angry look, "no we have not, ever since I agreed to our engagement he has been distant, it's like he hardly wants to be around me at all."

Seeing that his comment had hurt me the phantom came over and placed his hand upon my cheek. "I'm sorry Christine."

"Thank you Phantom." I replied."

"Erik." he suddenly said aloud.

"Huh"

"My name is Erik." He said again.

"Erik," I replied trying it out, I liked it. In that moment Erik looked up into my eyes and I stared back into his. I began to realize that Raoul might have been the wrong choice after all. The next thing I knew I was kissing Erik. When our warm lips crashed together I never wanted it to end, but then I thought of Raoul and decided that I should end it with him before I went any farther with Erik, he was my childhood sweet heart after all. At that moment I pushed away from Erik and saw his surprised face when I did.

"Christine is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Well its Raoul," I said and before I could continue to explain Erik cut me off

"OH I SEE, YOU LITTLE VIXEN!" he cried with pain and anger. "You could never love a horrible monster as much as your imbecile Raoul. It doesn't matter whether he shows you any affection or not as long as you don't have to stare at this hideous face any more!" Erik screamed while ripping off his mask and wig.

"No, Erik it's not that." I said trying to approach him, but he just shoved me away.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Erik screamed in his most threatening voice. "Get out before I personally drag you back up there myself!"

Hurt at his words and angry at not being able to finish what I was saying I turned on my heel and headed for the door back to my dressing room. "I'll come back and explain later once you've calmed down." I muttered under my breath.

I had only been back in my dressing room for 2 minutes when the door swung open and in stepped an Angry Raoul.

"Where have you been," he slurred." I've have been looking for you all day!"

"Raoul are you drunk?" I asked

"So what if I am? That's no excuse for where you have been. Probably with some lover of yours!" he angrily cried out.

"How dare you accuse me of that I have no idea where this idea came from or why you're so drunk in the middle of the day, but this needs to stop or this engagement is over." I said back.

"This Engagement is over when I say it is and if I find out who this lover of yours is that you are denying you are both going to be in trouble!" he yelled as he slammed the door closed and left.

I sat down in the closest chair and sighed wondering why everything was becoming so mixed up.

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** Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! please keep reviewing, once again i'd love to hear any comments, suggestions, or constructive critism. I'll try to have Chapter 3 up as soon as possible, depending on how much homework i have, haha. thanks again! **


	3. Chapter 3 So lost, so helpless

**Hi again! Finally here is the 3rd chapter for wandering child. Sorry about not posting sooner, I have been busy with school stuff and my friend was moving so I had to say goodbye. From here things in the story are going to get a lot more interesting. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Please review! i'd love to hear what you think. Reviews will also help keep this story going. Enjoy chapter 3! (I do not own any of the POTO characters, no matter how much I wish I did.)**

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Christine's POV

As I got ready for the performance of Hannibal later that evening I still felt conflicted about what had happened between Raoul and me. I also felt conflicted about the situation with Erik. I slid into my worn white blouse and golden yellow skirt for the ballet, I would have been playing Elissa again, but since the amazing reviews over my performance Carlotta had magically returned to "take her rightful place as diva," or at least that's what she said. Just as I was pulling my hair up and adding my jewelry Meg walked into the room with the cheerful smile she always had on her face.

"Christine!" Meg cried. "I've been looking _all_ over for you, where on earth have you been?"

"I was with my tutor, Meg."I replied smiling while thinking of Erik.

"Ah yes, that mysterious tutor of yours, Oh Christine why won't you just tell me who this tutor of yours is?" Meg whined.

I never liked keeping secrets from Meg. We shared everything with each other, clothes, jewelry, shoes, secrets. The only thing I have and ever would keep from Meg was Erik's identity, I wanted to tell her so badly, but one of Erik's rules of teaching me was to never tell anyone of his existence. As a child he used to tell me that if I told I would never see him again so I kept my mouth shut.

"Meg I already told you that I can't tell you who he is." I said

"Oh Please, Please, _Pleaseeee_! Come on I'll buy you dessert at the café," she begged.

"No Meg!" I yelled while laughing at her bribe.

We both began to giggle and soon broke out into full laughter, and then Madam Giry entered the room.

"Meg, Christine! What on earth are you still doing up here? The performance is starting soon and we are all waiting on you!" Madam Giry said sternly.

"Sorry mamma we will be right there," Meg replied still giggling.

"You better be, or I'll take both of you out of tonight's performance." Madam Giry said as she walked off.

"After the performance what do you say we head over to the chapel and hang out, like old times?" Meg asked.

"I'd love to." I said happy that some things were still the same.

We both hurried downstairs to the stage and took our places behind the edges of the curtains. As the show wore on I was barely paying any attention to what was going on. I had even almost missed one of the dancing cues and I knew Madam Giry would punish me for it later, but I couldn't get Erik out of my head. I was sure that I loved him, but did I love him enough to walk out of the engagement with Raoul? My head fought with my heart for the whole performance and by the end I still had no idea what to do, maybe I will ask Meg.

Once the show was over I quickly went back to my dressing room to change so I could meet Meg. When I got there I noticed that there was no rose from Erik left for me on the mahogany vanity. I began to look around the room and couldn't find a single rose. This was strange because every night after a performance I could count on finding a gorgeous red rose, in full bloom, with a soft silk black ribbon tied into a bow on the stem, it didn't matter whether I had a major part or was just part of the ballet if Erik though I did good he would leave me a rose. I began to go through the reasons for him not leaving me a rose. Had I not please him with my performance? Or was he still mad about earlier? I wasn't sure but it left me feeling very sad. I was about to remove my blouse when I noticed that the necklace I was wearing during the performance was gone! Now if it had been any other necklace I would have just left it for the night and asked if anyone had found it the next day, but this necklace was from my mother and one of the only things I had left of her so I headed back to the stage to get it.

When I got there the room was very dim, only a few candles were lit giving it an uneasy feeling. I began to search the stage and saw something sparkle on the far end. I went over to it and sure enough it was my necklace. As I bent down to pick it up I suddenly had this unsettling feeling as if someone was watching me, it wasn't until he spoke that I noticed that Raoul had entered the room.

"Christine what are you doing here alone, why aren't you at the party with the rest of the performers?" Raoul asked with a strange tone.

The sound of his voice in the silent room had startled me, making me jump out of my skin. "Raoul you startled me!" I gasped. "My necklace fell off during the show and I had to come back and get it."

"Oh Christine, you don't have to lie anymore. I know you are here waiting for you lover and what a perfect place to do so, in the empty theater." Raoul said with venom in each of his words. "I'm surprised I didn't think of this before."

"Raoul I have no clue what you are talking about, but I most certainly am not cheating on you." I said

"Really Christine you are trying my patience, just admit that you are cheating. I have the evidence." Raoul snapped at me.

"Oh really? And what evidence would that be?" I asked wondering what ridiculous evidence he was talking about.

From behind his back Raoul pulled out a rose, but not just any rose, a rose with a black ribbon. Erik's rose. "Where on earth did you get that?" I asked anger rising in my voice.

"It's a funny story really," Raoul said, "After the performance I went to you dressing room to leave you a dozen roses and when I got there I found THIS DISGUSTING ROSE! Along with a note that said _Brava Mon ange."_ Raoul's voice began to get angrier, "Do you think I enjoy being made a fool Christine? Do you think making me look stupid is fun?" he screamed. He then snapped the stem of the rose with his hands, dropped it, and smashed it with his boot, ripping and smearing the petals all across the floor.

"Now it's time to teach you a lesson." He said rolling up his sleeves.

I saw that terrible gleam in his eye knew I was in serious trouble. I tried to run, but he was faster. He grabbed me by my hair and swung me to the ground. I screamed as I hit the floor, trying to quickly get up. Raoul then ran over and began to kick and hit me before I could get on my feet. I lay there on the floor as he kicked me in the stomach and chest. He was soon kicking me and hitting me all over my body, from my face all the way down to my feet. The pain was unbearable; I cried and screamed with every stab of agonizing pain begging for him to stop. Every time I pleaded him to stop he would just hit me harder and scream that I needed to learn my lesson and that this was for my own good. I don't know if he stopped or if I was in so much pain that I just couldn't feel the hits anymore, but at that moment I began to feel lightheaded, then I blacked out.

Erik's POV

I sat down at my piano trying to lose myself in the music and not think about Christine. I loved her with my heart and soul, but sometimes she would drive me crazy. One second she would kiss me and the next she would run back to the Viscount. I was sick and tired of her trying to choose between us and I don't think my heart could take another rejection from her. If only this cruel god had made me look beautiful instead of giving me this horrid face then maybe Christine would be mine. Yet once again she has chosen her handsome, imbecile Raoul, so why should I still care about the little vixen. She has made her choice and I shall not speak to her again. My music became angrier as I thought of Christine in the arms of her stupid viscount. I was so absorbed into my music, that I didn't even notice Madam Giry enter my lair.

"Erik! Erik? ERIK!" Madam Giry screamed breaking my thoughts.

"Dam you woman!" I screamed back. "Can't you see I am trying to work?"

"Erik you know I wouldn't come down here unless it was something important." Madam Giry said.

"Then what is it?" I replied aggravated.

"Did you happen to see Christine today?" Madam Giry asked, "Maybe sometime after Hannibal?"

"No! I have not seen Christine since earlier today when she rejected me yet again for her _prissy_ little Viscount; she can burn in hell for all I care!" I screamed angrily.

"Erik! You will NOT talk about Christine like that!" Madam Giry said.

"Why are you asking me anyway?" Erik asked.

"Well Meg and a few of the stage hands found Christine lying passed out and horribly beaten on the stage and I also found a destroyed rose with a black ribbon which you gave her." Madam Giry said wearily.

All of my ill feelings towards Christine vanished. She was hurt! And I soon felt the guilt of my earlier comments slipping in. "Please Madam Giry take me to her!" I cried, and we both headed back up the secret passage that led to Christine's dressing room.

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**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter will most likely be up tomorrow (but since it is already tomorrow 9/11, we can say it will be posted today). PLEASE REVIEW! Like I said before your reviews keep the story going. Once again i'd love to hear and comments, idea's, or constructive criticism :) Thanks for reading! (and for those of you who review as well, THANK YOU!) **


	4. Chapter 4 Forgiveness

** Hey everyone! Here is the next chapter. Before you read I would just like to say that I don't mind if you have some constructive critism for my story or if you just don't like it. Those are your opinions and I will respect that, but I do NOT want any nasty remarks like the one that a certain person named "UGH" left for me. If I have made a small mistake then just kindly let me know and I will fix it. You don't have to call me names. And to Broadway Blondie thanks for your support, you are a really great writer too! For everyone else thanks for reading my story and enjoy! **

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Christine's POV

When I awoke later I felt horrible. Every part of my body felt sore, it took me a minute to recall what had happened, but when I did I could feel the tears escaping my eyes. I then noticed that I wasn't on the stage, but back in my dressing room lying on the red sofa covered in blankets. My blouse and skirt from the performance had also been removed and I was now wearing my soft white night gown. The next thing I noticed was the other voices in the room. One of them sounded unfamiliar, but the other I would have known anywhere.

"Meg?" I whispered.

She suddenly turned toward me noticing I was awake.

"Christine! I'm so glad you are awake! How are you feeling?" She asked coming over and bending down next to me.

"I feel awful Meg, how did I get back here anyway?" I asked.

"Well when you didn't show up at the chapel after the performance I knew something was wrong and I began to look for you. When I didn't find you in your dressing room I headed to the stage to see if you were still there, when I saw you lying there I ran for mamma and we got the doctor and brought you back here." Meg explained.

"Thank you Meg" I said. I was so lucky to have a friend like her.

"Christine, do you know who did this to you?" Meg asked.

"It was Raoul, he came in screaming these horrible things to me and then he beat me up." I said trying to hold back the sobs.

Meg looked shocked. "That's so awful, I'm so sorry." She said while giving me a hug.

Her face told me she was hiding something from me. "Meg is there something else?" I asked

She looked unsure of whether to tell me or not." Please Meg, what is it?" I asked.

"I wasn't going to tell you until you were feeling better, but after I found you and the doctor showed up, mamma suggested I go find Raoul and let him know what was going on, so I started looking for him and I found him in the ally outside the Opera house. I was about to call out to him when…" she pause for a minute before going on."I saw another girl with him. He was kissing her and talking about how pretty she was, I'm so sorry." Meg said.

"No, this can't be happening" I thought while burying my face in the blanket. While Raoul was accusing me, he was the one who was cheating. Not only did I feel sore, but now I felt like a complete fool. I could feel the tears escaping from my eyes again.

"Christine, Christine? Are you alright?" Meg asked her voice full of concern.

I couldn't answer her, I was lost for words so I just kept my head down and continued to sob.

Madam Giry walked in and asked the doctor how I was doing. I heard him say that it would be awhile till I fully recovered, he mentioned how severe some of my bruising was and that when I had been thrown down I had sprained my ankle. He also gave her some kind of sticky pink looking medicine for me to take. He told her he would be back to check within the next week and left.

"I think we had better give Christine some time alone. Come on Meg." Madam Giry said.

"But mamma what about Christine?" Meg began to argue, but Madam Giry cut her off.

"Meg, Christine will be fine. Let's go, now." Madam Giry commanded.

I didn't want to be left alone, but knew there was no arguing with Madam Giry. Meg quietly said goodbye and followed her mother out the door. Being alone in the room frightened me, what if Raoul came back to finish me off? Was the door locked? Would anyone hear me screaming? I started crying harder realizing that if he came I would be trapped. That was when I heard a small click from the door. I closed my eyes prepared to hear Raoul's awful voice. When the person who had entered the room gently placed their hand on my shoulder, I flinched away.

"Mon ange?"

I opened my eyes relieved to see Erik not Raoul standing before me.

"Erik!" I cried. I had never been so happy to see him in my entire life.

"Oh Christine!" My angel cried seeing what horrible shape I was in. "where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere." I moaned.

I saw the pain in his face seeing me like this, He grabbed my hand and kissed it, but I wished he would kiss my lips instead.

"I promise you, Erik will be sure to make the person who did this to you pay." He said pain and anger in his voice.

"No you don't have to." I said back. The last thing I needed was Raoul to hurt Erik as well. "I'll be fine, as long as I'm with you." I said smiling.

Erik looked confused. "What about the Viscount? Don't you want to be with him?" He asked bitterly.

"I did, but I don't anymore. I loved the Raoul of my past, my childhood sweetheart. Not the Raoul I know now. That's what I was trying to explain to you earlier. I want to be with you, I just wanted to break it off with Raoul first." I said.

Erik then laid his head on my chest and began to cry.

Oh Christine! Erik is sorry about earlier. Erik is an awful person!

"No you're not Erik, you just didn't know." I said wiping away his tears. "Please don't cry."

He looked up and kissed me again, this time on the lips. I had missed Erik's kisses. They were always so tender and full of love. We stayed kissing each other for what felt like forever, until Erik rested his hands on my chest causing me to gasp in pain. When I did he immediately pulled away and apologized.

"I think I should go now." Erik said starting to head toward the mirror.

"Erik wait!" I cried, "I don't want to be left alone."

"But, I have to get back and finish some things up." He said.

"I'll come with you then." I said.

"Christine you can't move in your condition." Erik replied.

"Then carry me! Please Erik!" I begged as if I were 5 years old again.

Erik sighed and walked over to where I lay. "How can I ever say no to you?" He said while lifting me off the couch.

He started carrying me down to his lair while I snuggled into his chest falling asleep.

The next few days past along smoothly, Erik waited on me hand and foot since I couldn't move around and no matter how hard he tried to get me to go back up I refused, not only was I worried about Raoul, but Madam Giry told us that he had questioned everyone about my whereabouts and now had the Police staying at the opera house around the clock till I was found. Besides I liked waking up to Erik playing his Organ and reading the massive amount of books in his library, it was calming. It also gave me and Erik tons of time to just talk, I would have done more than just talked, but my body was still in pretty bad shape.

One day I was sitting on a chair in the library reading a book while Erik was fixing one of the shelves when something crossed my mind.

"Erik." I said to get his attention.

"What is it?" he asked with his concentration still on the cracked shelf.

"What are we going to do when Raoul finds us?" I asked. "I mean I'm sure we are fine right now, but he has the police here night and day. Madam Giry has kept them from looking down here, but how long can she keep them away. I mean you're a wanted man who knows what will happen if they find us, they will probably kill you." I said. I was cautious of the words I used because the other day I told Erik Raoul had done this to me and he lost it, he was so angry he began smashing some of his furniture and yelled about how he was going to kill him till I calmed him down. I didn't want the same reaction again.

Erik then stopped what he was doing and came over to me and thought about what I said for a moment.

"Perhaps you are right," he said. We will probably have to escape at some point. We just need a plan to get out of here safely."

"But how are we going to do that with the police here all the time?" I asked.

We both sat thinking for a moment when Erik began to smirk." I have an idea." he said looking at his model of the opera stage decorated for Don Juan triumphant.

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** Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Ill try to have the next one up soon (hopefully I won't get a lot of homework :) ) Please review! I try to take all your reviews into account when writing. I love to hear any positive feedback, idea's or constructive criticism (Please keep nasty remarks to yourself) Thanks again! **


	5. Chapter 5 Plan in Action

** Hey everyone! sorry I haven't updated in a week, I have just been so busy with school! A quick thing I wanted to let people know is in my story at certain points Erik talks in 3rd is not a typo, I saw this used in other people's stories and I liked the idea. In my story he will only speak in 3rd person when he is angry or upset. Please enjoy this exciting chapter and REVIEW! **

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Christine's POV

It had been three days since I had left Erik's home and I have despised every minute of it. I would have gladly stayed with Erik forever in his underground world of darkness and music, but his plan required that I return to the surface. Erik's plan was brilliant, there was no way that we could continue to stay in the opera house or even Paris for that matter with the police searching for Erik, so his idea was to escape during Don Juan triumphant. He didn't go into all the details, but during _"Past the point of no return"_ Erik will take Piangi's place and after the song we will escape out of his lair into the alley and sneak to the stables. We were going to get on the next ship out of here, but the one we had tickets for was delayed and would not arrive back in Paris for a few weeks, So Erik and I were going to ride one of the horses to the house by the sea and hide there until the boat arrived. Since I had been back though I had been bombarded with questions, Andre and Firmin had called me into their office the other day and would not stop asking me about Erik's whereabouts, I was so nervous I was going to give something away, thankfully Madam Giry got me out of there by telling them I had to go to some made up rehearsal. The worst part was the whole conversation with Raoul. I was terrified about having to see him again after everything that had happened and no matter how hard I tried to convince him I wasn't with Erik while I was gone he wouldn't believe me. He said that the police were going to be here until he saw that the monster was dead. The night of our escape just couldn't come fast enough.

The rest of the week I spent practicing for Don Juan and somehow through all of that I made it to the night of our escape. I sat getting ready in front of my mirror in my dressing room. I was so nervous, what if our plan failed? What if the Police got Erik? What if Raoul got to Erik? I decided to go down to the Chapel and pray to my father. When I got down there I bent down, lit his candle and began to pray, "Oh father, please watch over Erik and I in our escape tonight. Please make sure no harm comes to my angel of music" I said aloud. As I stood to leave Madam Giry entered the room.

"Christine, I wanted to talk to you before the show."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I know that Meg and I will be seeing you in a few weeks, but I wanted to wish you good luck tonight since after the show I won't be seeing you." Madam Giry said.

"Thank you." I said giving her a hug.

"I always thought of you and Erik as if you were my own children and I hope that you two will be safe and happy till we see you again." Madam Giry said with tears in her eyes.

I hugged her and thanked her again.

"Oh I also had to deliver this to you" Madam Giry said holding out a beautiful red rose.

I smiled while fingering the soft red petals. "Oh Erik." I though. "he knew just how to make me feel better."

"Come on the show in about to start." Madam Giry said.

"I'll be there in a minute." I said as she left. I turned to my father's candle and prayed one more time. The opera was about to begin and there was no turning back.

The show started well, I wouldn't see Erik until the second act so I had a while to wait. I managed to get through each part perfectly, a surprise to me because of how nervous I was. Finally the time came for us to sing. I came out on stage and began our song, and right on cue there he was mask and all singing back to me. At that moment I wasn't scared anymore I was with Erik and it felt perfect. Everything began to melt away, the other performers, the audience, the police, Raoul, everything faded away till it was just Erik and I singing to Each other.

"_Past the point of no return  
the final threshold  
the bridge is crossed  
so stand and watch it burn  
we've passed the point of no return."_

Then Erik began to sing to me,

"_Say you'll share with me  
One love, one lifetime  
Lead me, save me from my solitude_

Say you want me  
With you here  
Beside you  
Anywhere you go  
Let me go too  
Christine that's all I ask of you…."

"I love you." I said just loud enough for him to hear.

He had to keep his composure, but I saw the tears of joy in his eyes. He slowly leaned his head down toward my neck and whispered into my ear.

"Hold tight to me."

I did as he said, and the next thing I knew everything was in total chaos.

I saw the most horrific sight I had ever seen, the gorgeous chandelier started falling towards the audience. People screamed and ran, but that was all I saw before Erik and I dropped off the riser though the fake fire and down into the catacombs of the opera house.

As we ran I heard everyone screaming, people were shouting fire. What had we done?

"Erik, Erik!" I screamed over the noise trying to get him to stop running.

He spun around and stared at me

"What is it we don't have time woman!" he shouted

"You didn't tell me all those people were going to get hurt." I said angrily.

"We needed a distraction and who cares about them, all those fools never treated me with any kindness so they deserve whatever they get!" Erik growled. "Now let's be on our way, you're wasting our time!"

I was still upset about what Erik had done, but now we had no choice but to leave. We had past the point of no return and there was absolutely no way we could stay in Paris anymore. We ran down to his lair to where we had left our bags. We grabbed the bags, took one last look at Erik's wonderful home and made our way out the secret path into the alley.

The alley that was usually dark was lit up due to the fire raging on inside. The light of the flames flickered like a strange and evil dance across the alley walls. We started towards the barn…..

"So the Devil's Child is trying to make his escape?"

Erik and I stopped dead in our tracks and turned to see Raoul standing there. The light from the fire made him look truly evil. He began to slowly clap.

"I applaud your efforts, but did you really think you could get away?" he asked.

Erik quickly pulled me behind him. "How do you know anything about that?" he growled.

"Let's just say that some people can't keep secrets." Raoul replied.

"Leave us De Chagny!" Erik yelled

"Or what?" Raoul laughed. "Let me remind you that I could just call the police over here and have you killed in seconds, but you're just lucky I want to deal with you myself." Raoul said pulling out his sword.

Erik pulled his out as well, I tried to stop him, but he didn't listen.

"Christine-"Raoul began, but Erik cut him off.

"Don't even think about speaking to her!" he shouted viciously.

Raoul continued, "You could have had everything with me, I would have taken care of you, but instead you chose this hideous monster over me? I don't even think you actually love him, who could ever love such a beast? You are probably just stuck as his prisoner.

"You are wrong! I would never be with you, not only did you hit me, but you cheated on me too! And Erik is not a monster he is a kind gentle, man who loves me as much as I love him! You could never be the kind of man that Erik is!" I screamed at him.

"A man Christine? He is a killer! And he will probably just end up killing you too! Probably right after he rapes you! Raoul said between laughs of insanity.

That was all Erik needed to hear, he swung his sword at Raoul angrily. As their fight wore on it became more intense. I screamed for them to stop and for Raoul to leave us alone, but they wouldn't listen. Erik had managed to slash Raoul's arm and I thought he was going to win when suddenly Raoul managed to stab Erik in his chest causing him to fall to the ground. Raoul stood over Erik with his sword poised to stab him in the heart. I knew I had to do something and quickly or my angel would be gone forever. I saw an old wine bottle lying against the wall. I picked it up and crept up behind Raoul.

"Any last words, demon?" Raoul asked.

That's when I took the bottle and swung it down over Raoul's head as hard as I could. I saw the glass shatter all over the ground and then I saw Raoul collapse unconscious onto the ground. I hurried over to Erik's side.

"Erik!" I cried. He looked pale and I knew I had to get him some help and quick, but we also had to get out of here.

"Christine, go leave me here and save yourself. If they find you with me they will kill you as well." He said weakly.

"I'm not going anywhere without you." I said placing a kiss on his forehead. I first stopped his wound from bleeding too much, grabbed our bags, and helped him over to the stables. I helped him up onto the horse and he gripped the reins for support. I hopped on and we started off on our way to the house by the sea.

It was going to take us just about all night to get there without stopping and that was what we were going to do until I noticed Erik starting to slump. I stopped the horse and helped him down; he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Erik, stay with me ok?" I said trying to keep him awake

He mumbled something, but I couldn't understand

"Tell me a story." I said, trying to keep him busy while I got out the brandy to clean his wound.

He groaned and mumbled something else.

I ripped my dress and poured the brandy on it then pressed it to the stab. He cried out in pain.

"Erik it's ok." I said soothingly. I tore another part of my dress and wrapped it around his chest. I noticed some of the color was returning to his cheeks and I smiled giving him a hug.

"I love you Erik." I said whispering into his ear.

"I…I love you too, mon ange." He sighed

I helped him back onto the horse and we started off again. It was early the next morning that we reached the house by the sea. I was so excited to be back, seeing the house filled me with such wonderful memories, but Erik and I were both so tired from the previous night's events that I just didn't have the energy to explore the house. I took our stuff in, helped Erik to bed and passed out on the couch, dreaming of the wonderful like with Erik that was sure to come.

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** Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! I'll try and post again soon! Please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **


	6. Chapter 6 House by the Sea

** Hello! Here is the next chapter. This one has a lot of good moments between Erik and Christine. It's a good break from all the action that was going on. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I would really love to hear what you think about it! Enjoy the chapter and as always PLEASE REVIEW! **

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Christine's POV

I awoke later to the sound of Erik whimpering in the other room. I rose from the couch and went to check on him. I found him tossing and turning in his sleep, probably having a bad dream. I sat by his side and gently took his mask off.

"Please, master no more! No more!" he cried out.

"Erik, its ok you're dreaming." I said shaking him awake.H

He shot up gasping with fright. He reached for his mask and realized it wasn't on.

"It's ok, Erik your safe." I said.

"I'm terribly sorry about not having my mask on." Erik said sheepishly while trying to slip it back on. "I am sorry that you had to look at this hideous face."

I gently reached for his hands and stopped them. "Erik, you are not hideous and you don't need to wear the mask around me anymore, I like you better without it anyway." I said.

Erik smirked and placed the mask back on the night stand.

"Do you want to tell me what the dream was about?" I asked

"No its fine, you don't have to worry about any part of my past." He said. "They are just bad memories."

Erik, you can tell me. I want you to be able to share things with me. Do they have something to do with why Raoul called you the Devil's child?" I asked.

Erik sighed, "I wasn't going to tell you of this, but if you insist. Since I was born I have had my horrible face. It was so bad that my father left us and my mother, my own mother, couldn't even look at me. She would beat me and tell me what an ugly child I was, until the day she could take me any longer and sold me to a band of Gypsies."

I gasped, my poor Erik. How could anyone treat him with so much cruelty? "Erik you don't have to go on I said."

He ignored me and continued. "The Gypsies treated me horrible as well. They turned me into an attraction, the devil's child. They kept me in a cage with some straw and then there was my master. Master would make Erik show his face to people." He said with tears running down his cheeks. And when Erik would beg Master not to Master would whip Erik, whip Erik till Erik could not feel the pain."

"Stop!" I said tears running down my face as well. "Please stop."

Erik stared into my tear filled eyes; the pain I saw in them broke my heart. I hugged his shaking body and began to sing to calm him down.

_Pitiful creature of darkness,  
what kind of life have you known?  
I promise your pain is over,  
you are not alone..._

I then kissed him. Our lips crashing together were the most wonderful feeling in the world and without the mask it was even better. I heard him begin to moan so I kissed him more. His hands began to explore my body.

"Oh Erik." I said in pure ecstasy.

"Christine" he said back to me.

We stayed kissing each other till I somehow had him on his back on the bed. I placed my hand on his chest, but it wasn't until he pulled my body away that I remember about his injury.

"I'm sorry" I said as he drew in a ragged breath of pain.

"Maybe we should continue another time." he said smirking.

I laughed, "Not until your better."

After the morning's events I took Erik to see the rest of the small cottage. Everything was exactly how I remembered it. I showed him the living room and kitchen, but what really intrigued him was my old room. When we first walked in I couldn't believe it was exactly the same. Erik wasted no time exploring what was my childhood. The room was pretty bare, but he explored every inch of it, from the small collection of stuffed animals on my bed, to the few children's books on my nightstand. When he reached my small desk he opened the drawers and looked inside. He began to pull out all the old papers inside and flip thoroughly though each one. Some were pictures I had drawn others were song I had written. Each had its own value, he saw the drawings of my father, of me, the ocean, my mother, and he stopped on one and stared at it for some time.

"I can see what all the rest of these pictures are, but what is this one of?" he asked.

When I saw it tears formed in my eyes. "That one is the Angel of music." I said pointing out some of the music notes around his wings and halo "Over in that corner is I and right there is my father when he was sick, I made this one while he was dying. I kept praying for the angel of music to save him." I said crying now.

"Mon ange, I did not mean to make you feel sad, please don't cry." He said sliding all the papers back into the drawer. He took me by the shoulders and brought me out of the room. "See everything is fine." Erik said.

I hugged him and when I let go I felt a lot better. "How about we go rest?" he said.

Wait I have one more place to show you, I said heading towards the center of the living room.

"Christine, you have already shown me this room." Erik said

"One second," I replied pulling down the attic stairs. I then motioned him to go up and followed him.

When he reached the top he spun around examining the room, it was much bigger than any of the other rooms. It had a small red carpet on the floor with an old chair sitting upon it. There was a shelf with a multitude of poetry and music books, my father's violin sat on its stand next to the chair, and on the other side of the room there was a musty piano. Erik traced his finger over every object it the room, stopping at the piano. He sat down and began to play an angelic song.

The room was soon filled with music and I was quickly lost in the beauty of the song. I was so into it that I didn't even notice when Erik had stopped playing. I would have continued to dance and sway to the music, if Erik had not started to laugh at me.

"That was my mother's" I said to him. "I never got to hear her play, but I heard she was brilliant."

"I bet she was." He said as we made our way down the stairs.

After exploring the house we were both hungry, so I decide to head down to the market and grab us some food. I would have had Erik come with me, but he was so self conscious about his looks he refused. As I walked to the market I thought about how well things were turning out. Erik and I were finally able to be together, Raoul was gone, and I had gotten to come back to my home, everything was perfect. Oh how wonderful it would be one day to come home as Erik's wife, to see our children, to be a family. These thoughts played through my head as I traveled through the market.

That's when I came up with the great Idea to surprise Erik. I had never really done anything special for him and this was the perfect occasion. I picked out some flowers, candies, and food for tomorrow's perfect surprise. My idea was to spend a glorious romantic day at the beach and then, I'd bring him home to find an amazing dinner on the table. I was so excited I couldn't wait to start working on the surprise.

When I got home I didn't see Erik anywhere so I quickly hid the stuff for his surprise and then went to search for him. I found him up in the attic reading one of the poetry books.

He smirked when I came into the room and motioned for me to come see what he was looking at. I read the title of the poem.

"Little Lotte?" I said shocked that he had chosen the poem once so dear to Raoul and me.

Yes, it took me awhile to find it; he said referring to the pile of books on the floor. "I wanted to see why this poem had interested you so much." He said.

I smiled and told him that dinner would be ready soon and went back down stairs.

I had decided to make stew and when it was done I called for Erik to come and eat. We had a wonderful time chatting while we ate; I loved being around Erik. After dinner I went to take a bath, I was going to clean the dishes but Erik insisted he do it since I had made dinner. I washed up and put on my night gown. As I was heading toward the couch Erik stopped me.

"Mon ange, why don't you take the bed tonight." He said

"No I'll be fine." I said "Besides with your injury you need it more than I do."

"I will be perfectly fine, I have been in worse situations." he said "It's settled you will be sleeping on the bed tonight." He commanded.

"Fine, as long as you sleep with me." I giggled

"I beg your pardon?"

"The bed is big enough for both of us so why not sleep together?"

"Because it is not proper" he said shocked I had even brought it up.

"Please Erik, Please?" I said like a child begging her parents to read her a bedtime story.

He sighed and mumbled something about not being able to say no to me. We both got into bed and I snuggled close to his chest as he put his arms around me.

"Good night Erik." I said half asleep

"Good night, Mon ange" he sighed.

I woke the next morning expecting to find Erik beside me, but when I turned to wrap my arms around him my hands hit the pillow instead. I sat up checking the time; it was already 9:30. I got up and searched the house for Erik and couldn't find him anywhere. I was starting to worry when he walked through the door carry some pastries.

"Good morning"

"There you are where have you been, I was worried about you?" I asked.

"Oh I had to run a few quick errands and I didn't want to wake you this morning." He said. "I brought us some breakfast."

We sat down to eat and when we finished I started to clean up and told Erik to go get ready.

"For what?" He asked curiously.

"Your surprise!" I said smiling.

"You don't have to do anything for me Christine, really you being with me is enough"

I smiled, but I was so excited about the surprise I had planned for him I wasn't about to back down.

"Just go get ready" I said. "And Wear something comfortable."

He went off to get ready and I began to prepare for later. I first put the pork that I had bought into the oven and began to boil the potatoes. I was going to make the dinner and when we got home it would be all ready to go. After I had set everything up for later I went to go get ready. I decided to wear one of the many beautiful sun dresses Erik had bought me. It took me a while to choose but I finally decided on this beautiful baby blue silk dress that Erik loved. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail that rested upon my back and I took one of the blue silk ribbons I had and tied it into a bow in my hair. I checked in the mirror to make sure I looked perfect and once I was satisfied I picked up my picnic basket and went to meet Erik.

He was waiting for me on the couch; he had a white shirt and his soft black pants on. I saw that he was wearing his white mask and dark wig and wished that he would just leave it off, but I knew he would never do that out in public. When he saw me his jaw dropped slightly open and he braced himself on the couch.

"You look beautiful" he said not being able to look away.

I smiled "you don't look so bad yourself, Shall we be on our way?"

I took Erik's hand and he followed me down towards the beach. Because it was so nice out there were many people here today. When Erik noticed all the people he began to get nervous.

"Don't worry." I whispered "I know a spot just for us."

We walked past the groups of people and to a huge pile of rocks, I began to climb them and had Erik follow me. When we got to the other side I placed our stuff down and slid my feet into the sand. I remembered finding this place with my father, it was like our very own private beach, on both sides there was a huge pile of rocks making it unable to see anything on either side, and this usually kept people away. Erik stood uncomfortably unsure of what to do.

"You can take your mask off now. No one can see us." I said

He looked around and once he settled his nerves he slowly took the mask off. I gave him a kiss and then pulled him toward the ocean.

"Let's go for a swim!" I said starting to walk into the cold water.

"I think I'll just watch." He said standing by the edge.

I waded in further holding the bottom of my dress up. I stared splashing around laughing to myself. I turned back and waved at Erik on shore. I saw him smile watching me enjoy myself, after a while I came back to him; I didn't want to leave him alone for too long. We had a wonderful time sitting in the sand together, eating the candies I had bought, and talking while watching the ocean.

Everything was going to well I decided to try and get Erik to come into the ocean with me one more time. I brought him over to the edge and told him to come in with me. I took his hand and together we slowly waded out into the ocean. We had reached about up to our hips when he began to really enjoy himself. We swam around together kissing and splashing each other, but it was getting late and I wanted to get home before the dinner was over cooked. We began to swim back towards the shore when I felt something pulling me backwards.

"Erik!" I cried out as I was pulled farther and farther away from him. I saw him turn around and head back towards me, but then I was pulled under. I tried to swim against the rip tide, but it was no use. I was stuck under water and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get back up. I struggled for air and panicked when couldn't get any. Just as I was about to pass out I felt two hands clutch me and drag me out of the water. Erik pulled me all the way to shore and when we got there we both collapsed onto the beach. I lay on my back coughing and gasping for air. In seconds Erik was by my side helping me sit up and rubbing my back.

"Are you ok!" he asked his voice full of concern.

I sat there shivering and began to feel the tears starting to escape my eyes. The small tears soon turned into sobs and then I was sobbing into Erik's shoulder while he held me close to him.

"I'm sorry" I gasped through the sobs.

"Why on earth do you need to be sorry?" he asked with a confused look on his face.

"I..I ruined ev….everything!" I cried. "Today was su..supposed to be perfect and now I've messes it all up."

He lifted my head off of his shoulder and cupped my chin in his hands.

"Christine today was perfect. It was one of the most wonderful days I have ever had."

"Really?"

"Yes" he said placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Come one lets go get you out of these wet clothes" he said helping me up.

He grabbed the Picnic basket and we started home together, hand in hand.

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** I hoped you enjoyed that nice long chapter! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks to all my readers and an even bigger thank you to all the people who take the time to review! (please review! they keep the story going.)**


	7. Chapter 7 Devil's Child

** Hey everyone!Thanks for the amazing reviews for chapter 6! I was so gald to see everyone enjoyed it so much :). So onto the story,here is Chapter 7! Please REVIEW! **

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Christine's POV

When we arrived back at the house I suddenly remembered the dinner I had been planning. When Erik pulled the door open for me I quickly jumped inside and accidentally slammed it in his face. He must have been in shock because there was a long pause before he tried opening the locked door.

"Christine? What is going on let me in!" He shouted pounding at the door.

"One second" I called back. "This is part of you surprise!"

"Enough with the surprise nonsense! Just let me in." He said exasperated.

"Come on Erik, I've had this all planned out, I just have to get ready and change." I pleaded with him.

"Well hurry up then!" He said obviously irritated. "Or the Phantom of the Opera will tear this door down."

"Oh calm down Erik, we're not at the Opera house anymore." I called out laughing while walking away from the door.

I quickly ran into the bedroom and began to change. I put on my Red evening gown and let my hair out of the pony. Since it was already wet from the beach I brushed through it and left it down. I ran into the kitchen and pulled the Pork out of the oven, it looked delicious as I slid it onto the table. I placed the potatoes in a bowl, grabbed the loaf of bread, and set the table. Once dinner was set I grabbed a vase and slid the flowers I had bought the other day into the vase and onto the center of the table. I turned off all the lights and lit a few candles placing them on the table as well. Once everything was to my liking I hurried back over to the door, smoothed my dress and pulled it open.

Unfortunately for me I had no idea Erik was leaning up against the door until he came tumbling through the opening and fell on top of me. I couldn't help but laugh after I had hit the ground and even though I knew it annoyed him, Erik gave a small smile. We both got up and he turned to look at me.

"You look beautiful, my angel. I would have changed as well if you had let me in." He said with a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.

"Well good for you that you look handsome in anything." I said kissing him on his malformed cheek.

He took my arm and I led him to the kitchen. When we got there he stopped and gave me a devilish grin.

"This looks amazing." He said.

"I'm glad you like it so much, Shall we eat?"

Erik, being the gentlemen that he was, ran over to my chair and pulled it out for me before I sat down. I poured each of us a glass of wine and we began to dig into our wonderful dinner. The food had come out delicious and I enjoyed every bite, but I wasn't the only one. Erik ate the food like he hadn't eaten a thing in years.

"Did I mention that you are an excellent cook?" He asked.

"I don't think so…" I said laughing

"Well if I didn't you are, this is amazing!" Erik said between bites.

I laughed at him again and told him to slow down so that he wouldn't get sick. By the time we had finished everything was gone, I was going to clean up but Erik once again insisted that he be the one to clean up since I had done the cooking. I jumped into a bath and put on my pink silky night gown. Erik still had to get cleaned up so after I was done I sat on the couch and read one of the poetry books while waiting for him.

The house was so quiet that when Erik wrapped his arms around my shoulders I jumped and sent the book flying to the floor.

"Boo." He said smirking at my reaction.

"Ha ha very funny." I said. He was dressed in his dark shirt and pants, but what I really liked was that his wig and mask were still off.

He lifted me off the couch, onto my feet, and we began to sway together. I buried my face into his shoulder to smell his cologne that I loved so much.

"What are we doing?" I asked

"Dancing of course." He said to me as if it were obvious.

"But, there's no music…" I was about to continue when me cut me off.

"Of course there is," he took one of my hands and placed it on his chest where his heart was.

"Do you feel that?" He asked; I nodded.

"That's our beat." "Do you hear the, clock ticking? How about the ocean waves?" he asked.

Once again I nodded.

He leaned in towards my ear and whispered in his most seductive voice. "Listen….. Do you hear it now?"

And just like magic I heard the music. All the sounds Erik mentioned mixed together until they formed a beautiful song. We swayed and danced to the music for so long. It was only when Erik kissed me that I was freed from his trance.

I kissed him harder and started to move my hands all over his body.

"Oh Christine!" he moaned.

Still kissing we found our way to the bed and both landed on it. Our breathing became labored; I quickly began to remove Erik's shirt, not being able to resist him any longer. I had his shirt fully off and was about to undo his pants when he gently pulled me away.

"Christine, are you sure you are ready to do this?" He asked, unsure of whether to continue.

"I'm sure." I said leaning in for another kiss.

He paused again.

"There is something I must tell you first." He said.

"What is it?"

"Well with having a face as disgusting as mine, I have never really been with a woman." Erik said his face turning a bright red.

"Erik, this is my first time too." I said "I'm just as nervous as you are." He smiled knowing he wasn't the only one feeling this way.

He started to kiss me again and I went back to trying to undo his trousers. I was pretty sure that he wasn't able to resist either because the moment I had calmed him down, he had tore my night gown off. We began to explore every part of each other's bodies; I traced every scar across his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair. I was in pure bliss; making love to Erik was one of the most wonderful things I had ever experienced. By the time we had finished we were both lying in each other's arms as our breathing returned to normal.

"That was amazing." I sighed.

"Indeed." Erik replied still breathing heavily.

I slowly began to drift off to sleep in his arms. I heard him whisper "Good night, my love."

"Good night, Erik." I managed to say before sliding into my dreamless slumber.

When I woke up the next morning I found myself still lying in Erik's arms. He had been watching me sleep; I felt him twirling my curls between his fingers.

"Good morning my love." He said.

"Good morning." I said back while rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"You must be hungry," Erik said. "I'll make us some breakfast."

We sat that morning enjoying our breakfast together. We were having such a wonderful time at the house by the sea that I never wanted it to end, but I knew that in another week or so we would have to leave Paris. So while we were still here we decided to enjoy our time to the fullest. We spent days at the beach or spending alone time together in the house and at night we made love. It was like we were on our honey moon. Everything was so perfect, until I got sick. It started out like a normal cold, I was feeling very tired and run down, I had been throwing up, and I couldn't eat because everything tasted awful. Erik had wanted me to see a doctor, but I reassured him that I was fine. This went on for a few days and the sickness would just come and go, one second I was feeling great and the next I was vomiting into the chamber pot.

It was just two days before we had to leave the house by the sea; I was feeling very restless because Erik would not let me outside in my condition. I wanted to go for a walk on the beach one last time, so I climbed up to the attic and found Erik sitting at the piano writing his music.

"Erik, let's go for a walk!" I said

"You are in no condition to be outside Christine. What if you feel sick while we are out?"

"I feel fine!" I told him. "Please Erik, just one more time, who knows when we will be able to do this again."

He sighed placing his quill down on the bench. "Only for a little while." He said.

I ran over and kissed him. "Thank you!"

He smiled as we headed out the door.

It felt perfect out today. The sun was shining, but there was a soft sea breeze keeping us cool. Erik and I walked across the beach hand in hand.

"I'm sad that we are leaving so soon." I said to him.

"Yes, I have actually enjoyed it here." He said. "What are you going to miss most about this place?"

"The whole cottage, it reminds me so much of my father." What about you?"

"The Ocean." Erik replied.

"Yes it is beau…" I tried to get the rest of the words out, but I couldn't finish the sentence. I suddenly felt light headed. I heard Erik call my name, but his voice sounded muffled and distant like I was trying to listen to him underwater. My feet began to slip out from under me and the last thing I felt was Erik catch me as I fell towards the ground; I don't remember a thing after that except for darkness.

When I came to I noticed that I was lying in some kind of doctor's office. I turned my head and saw Erik pacing the room back and forth, he was moving his hands wildly around; they were also shaking. I shifted a little and moaned not expecting to feel any pain. Erik stopped his crazy movements seeing that I was awake; he hurried towards me and bent down towards my face giving me a kiss.

"Christine! Erik is so sorry; he should have not taken you out! Erik is an awful monster."

"No you're not, don't say things like that, I hate when you put yourself down." I said comforting him. "What happened anyway?"

He stopped and looked at me quizzically "Do you not remember?"

I shook my head no.

"We were walking along the beach when you started to sway back and forth. You fainted and I caught you, bringing you here to the doctors."

As if on cue the doctor walked in at that moment. Erik stood and went up to the man angrily.

"Now sir I have been waiting here for hours and I demand an answer to why my," he paused not sure of what to call me.

"Wife." I said filling the word in for him.

I saw his eyes light up at the fact that I had just implied that we were married. He quickly turned back to the doctor and continued. "Yes, why my _wife_ has been so sick." He finished.

I smiled when I heard him call me his wife; he made it sound like the most amazing thing in the world.

"The doctor smiled, I was just about to get to that." "Now Christine, I assume that you and your husband have been making love?"

I blushed and nodded.

"What in God's name does that have to do with anything?" Erik shouted.

"Just as I suspected, the reason that Christine has been so ill is because she is pregnant."

Pregnant! I couldn't believe it, I had always wanted to be a mother and now I was going to be; and to Erik's child, I had never felt so happy!

"Well then why was I so sick?" I asked. I had seen other pregnant women and they had not been as sick as I was.

"Mostly due to fatigue, you also weren't eating enough due to the vomiting and these together led you to faint. "

I thanked the doctor for his wonderful news and Erik and I left the office.

I tried to talk to Erik the whole way home, but he wouldn't listen to me. Ever since the Doctor said that I was pregnant he had been quiet and irritated. When we arrived home he walked into the bed room and locked the door behind him.

"Erik, are you ok?" I asked. I heard nothing, but silence. I was pretty sure he just needed some time to soak in the information. I started to walk away from the door when I heard the loudest sounds coming from inside the room.

I spun around and started pounding on the door.

"Erik, let me in this instant!"

I heard him smashing all different things, it sounded like a bomb was going off in the room. I tried to get him to open the door, but he wouldn't listen. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a dull knife. Wedging it into the side of the door I managed to pop it open. When I walked into the room it looked like a disaster zone. There was glass scattered all over the floor, torn paper's floating through the air, and most of the furniture had been damaged in some way. Erik stood there with one of the small lamps in his hand.

"Erik! What has gotten into you? Why are you so upset with me?"

He turned around and ran towards me as if he was ready to swing the lamp at my face, but he didn't; He got right up into my face.

"You little viper! You think I am Angry at you!" he screamed taking the lamp and throwing it into the wall. "I am angry with myself!"

I closed my eyes as I heard the lamp smash into a thousand pieces. "Why are you so angry with yourself?" I asked as nicely as I could, trying to calm him down.

Erik sat down on the edge of the bed and began to cry. "Erik was the one who had made Christine so sick." He wailed "Erik has hurt Christine; he knows that his child will be just as hideous as he is!"

"That's not true, our child is going to be beautiful; and even if it comes out looking exactly like you, I will love it just as much as I love you.

"You say that now." Erik said bitterly. He stood up and started to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"Out." He said opening the front door and slamming it closed.

I gave a big sigh and began to clean up the room. Once that was done I got myself something to eat and got into my white night gown. I lay on the bed immediately falling asleep after today's events. Just before I was totally out, I prayed to my father that when I woke up everything would be back to normal.

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** Thanks for reading! I want to let people know ahead of time that I will not be using Gustave for Erik and Christine's child. I feel that since Love Never Dies came out it has become very over used, I want to do something different. I may have him come later in the story, but for now I will not be using him. Thanks again for reading and as always... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **


	8. Chapter 8 The Escape

** Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, i've just been very busy. Here is the next chapter! Enjoy and review **

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Christine's POV

When I woke up later there was a huge storm outside, the rain was pounding the roof, the thunder shook the whole house, and the lightning lit up the whole room. I turned to snuggle into Erik's chests, but he wasn't there. I got up and searched the house for him and found nothing. I began to worry, and then I wondered if he had even made it home.

I grabbed my red cloak and went out to look for him. I decided to check the beach first, knowing that Erik would never go to town with his mask on and that was the only other place for him to go. I ran across the beach calling Erik's name, but I could barely hear myself over the wind and waves. I was soaked from head to toe and was about to look somewhere else when I saw the rocks, of course Erik would go where I had taken him. I climbed the rocks being careful not to slip and fall and sure enough when I reached the top I saw a dark figure sitting in front of the ocean. I climbed down and approached him.

"Erik!" I shouted over the storm. He didn't notice me at first so I called to him again and this time he looked up surprised; He was crying.

"Christine, what are you doing out here?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same question, why didn't you come home? I was worried about you."

"I needed some time to think. Oh Erik does not deserve to be with you!" He wailed. "Erik is sorry for his behavior, but does Christine really want to have Erik's child?"

"More than anything." I said reassuring him.

"Well then Erik will be there for you." He said. I kissed him on his forehead.

"Let's go home." I said helping him up. We ran back to the house and changed out of our soaked clothes. I was about to fall asleep next to Erik on the bed when he called out to me.

"Christine? Are you still awake?"

"Hmm?" I moaned half asleep and half awake.

"I wanted to ask you something…." His sentence trailed off; he sounded nervous.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, "What is it?"

"Well… I…I was wondering if when we get out of Paris would you want to…to get married?"

I smiled and gave him a kiss. "Of course I will!" I said still smiling. "Nothing would make me happier, we can be a family." I said patting my stomach.

I had never seen Erik smile like he did when I said yes. It was like a child's smile after finding the gift they had always wanted for Christmas under the tree. He began to cry. "You make Erik so happy Christine!"

He wiped his eyes, "Do you want a girl or a boy?" He asked.

"I think I want a little boy, so he can be my little Erik, after his father."

Erik groaned, "If we do have a son I do not want you naming it after me, I loathe my name, it was just the one the priest picked out because my mother would not name me."

"What do you want the baby to be?" I asked him.

"A girl." He said with no hesitation.

"Why a girl?" I asked.

"Because she will be as beautiful as her mother."

I smiled and gave him another kiss. "Our child will be beautiful no matter who it comes out looking like."

"Hopefully you are right." Erik sighed.

We then snuggled together and fell asleep in each other's embrace.

We spent the last day at the house by the sea spending time together. We sat by the fire, read books, danced, and sang. We also walked down to the beach one last time. Soon it was time to go and before I knew it we were back on the horse and the house was becoming just a faded memory in the distance. I began to cry realizing how much I was going to miss my home, Erik asked me if I was ok and I told him that I was, just sad that our time there was over.

We arrived in town somewhere around three in the morning and were surprised to see police wandering the entrances. It was a good thing we had walked the last part of the journey or we would have surely been spotted. Erik took my hand and we snuck past one of the guards and into the alleyways. I followed Erik through the twists and turns till we arrived at one of the houses. He knocked at the door and Meg was the one who answered.

"Christine!" she shouted giving me a hug and pulling me into the house. "I'm so glad you are ok!"

Erik slammed the door shut and quickly locked it.

"Meg if it's those awful police men again just tell them that we don't know anything!" Madam Giry said walking into the room. When she saw Erik and me a look of relief washed over her face.

"Erik, Christine, it's so nice to see the both of you." She said giving each of us a hug. "You won't believe all that has happened since you were gone."

We all took a seat on the couch, I sat next to Erik and Meg sat next to Madam Giry on the couch across from us.

"The opera house was burned almost beyond repair and I'm not sure they are going to rebuild it, but that's not the worst part. The police have been searching for you two nonstop since the fire; they have interrogated everyone and checked all the houses in town for any signs of you. Raoul has been in charge of searching for you as well. He stopped by our house just last week and wouldn't leave till we gave him some information. I swear ever since they found him knocked out in the alley he has just been insane.

I blushed at the memory of hitting Raoul over the head. I was about to speak when I felt my stomach flip, I leapt off the couch and ran towards the bathroom.

As I was vomiting I heard Erik come in and pat me on the back; When I looked up I saw a look of pain across his face, I knew it was from seeing me like this so I told him I was fine and we went back to the couch.

"Are you ok Christine? Are you sick?" Madam Giry asked concerned.

"No, I'm fine." I replied. "I was just feeling ill because I'm pregnant."

Madam Giry looked surprised, Erik gave them a sheepish smile, and Meg jumped off the couch giving me a hug and congratulating me.

We sat and talked for a while longer till there was a loud knock at the door, we all tensed knowing that it was no one good knocking at three in the morning. "Miss open your door! I'm Chief of police and I need to speak to you.

"Go out the back and get to the docks, we will meet you there as soon as we can, if we don't make it in time go without us, go now!" Madam Giry whispered ushering us out.

"Hello?" the officer called though the door.

We heard Madam Giry open the door as we moved out the back. Erik took my hand and we inched towards the front of the house. When I peeked around the corner I saw a few police men, one of them holding the reins of our horse.

"The stupid thing found its way back to town." Erik muttered.

We heard Madam Giry speaking to the men; they continued to question her about us. They mentioned that Raoul had said that if we came back we would head here first. I heard Meg denying their accusations. I would have listened to more but Erik turned me toward him.

"Christine listen to me." He said. "The only way out of here is past those guards. When I tell you to we are going to slide around the corner and sneak past them, once we are safely away we can run to the docks. Do you understand?"

I silently nodded.

"Ok, let's go."

Erik took my hand and we slid against the wall to the edge of the alley. He stood waiting for just the right moment.

"Now!" he whispered pulling me along.

We crept quietly away from the police, we were almost free when, CRACK! I had tripped over some bricks lying on the corner. The Men immediately turned their heads towards us.

"Hey there they are, get them!" One of them shouted.

"Chief get out here!" Shouted another.

"Run!" Erik cried as he began to drag me by the hand. We took off with the Police close behind us, I ran as fast as I could, but the police seemed to be gaining. We had been running for a while and had not been able to get them off our trail. I was tired, but I kept going until I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I stumbled over my feet falling to my knees; I had never felt so nauseous, I was sure I was going to vomit.

Erik who had been running a few feet ahead of me kept going till he didn't hear the sound of my feet next to his. He turned around and saw me on the ground with the police just approaching. He ran back towards me and bent down next to me.

"Come on woman, we don't have time!" He said his voice tensed and irritated.

"I…..I…I can't…keep going." I puffed. "I'm going...to be...sick, go on… without me." I said between labored breaths.

His irritation immediately turned to concern. "I'm not going anywhere." He said just as the police reached us. I felt Erik cling onto my hand and shift me behind him. I tried to look up, but my head started spinning, I fell onto my side and tried to look up again.

I felt Erik's hand loosen from mine as the police yanked him off the ground putting him in cuffs.

He struggled and screamed at them "Leave her alone or I'll kill you!" He tried to kick at the Men so they began to punch him.

"Erik!" I moaned. Suddenly I threw up all over the street. All the noise disappeared and all I could hear was the rushing in my ears; I heard Erik call my name, but he sounded distant. I collapsed onto my back still heaving. The other two police men grabbed my arms, lifted me up and put cuffs on me.

I had no energy to stand so the two men dragged me to wherever we were going. I heard Erik still screaming angrily at them as they forced him along. We made it all the way to the station and they unhooked the hand cuffs and tossed me into one of the cells.

I expected them to throw Erik in with me but they didn't.

"De Chagny said this Devil would try to escape, so we need to make him incapable of doing so." The chief said. I heard them drag Erik somewhere and then there was silence.

As I started to feel better again, I felt guilt taking over the sick feeling I had. This was all my fault, I put Erik's life and our child's life in danger; I felt like the worst person in the world. I sat there crying till the men came back, what I saw caused me to gasp.

They had beaten Erik all over his body, his mask was gone and he was bleeding or bruised on almost every part of his body. They took off his cuffs him, tossed him into the cell next to me, and laughed while walking away. Once we were alone I picked myself up and moved over to the wall between his and my cell.

"Erik?" I called feeling even guiltier than before.

I heard him moan.

"This is all my fault, I'm so sorry; I'm going to find a way to get us out of here."

Before I could try to think about escaping one of the Police men who had captured us came in.

"There is someone here who wants to see you too." He said giving us a wicked grin.

The person who he was referring to stepped into the room.

"Raoul! What do you want?" I asked angry that he had even come to see us.

"Christine, long time no see, your still looking as beautiful as ever."

"I don't want to talk to you just leave us alone!"

"I have come to give you one more chance, come with me now and we can just forget everything that has happened. Come be my Little Lotte again and you can have everything that you want in this world." He offered it to me as if his taking me back was the kindest gesture he could make.

"I will never be your Little Lotte after what you did to me and Erik! There may have been a time when I would have taken you back, but those feelings are long gone."

His smug kindness turned bitter. "Fine, you will be mine by morning anyway."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well as soon as the sun rises your angel of music will be hanged and I can take you as my wife."

"I will never be with you and I most certainly will not let you harm Erik!"

"We'll see about that, I'll be back to get you later." Raoul said as he left; the police man followed him out.

Once we were alone again I tried to think of a way out. We just had to escape before the boat left; it was our only chance of getting out of this alive. I pulled one of the pins out of my hair and tried to pick the lock on the cell door. I tried and tired, but it wouldn't budge.

"Please father." I prayed. "Help us out of this." I closed my eyes and tried to pick the lock one last time. Click, I opened my eyes and saw the lock opened "thank you father."

I went over to Erik's cell door and opened his on the first try. I ran over to him sitting against the wall on the other side of the cell.

"Erik?"

I saw the pain in his eyes when he looked up at me. "I'm so sorry, if I had just been more careful none of this would have happened."

"I shouldn't have made you run. I knew how sick you were. How are you feeling mon ange?"

"I'm ok." I said starting to cry; even when he was in a worse position Erik always put me and my needs first.

I helped him up; we snuck out of the station while the Police were away preparing for Erik's hanging. We made our way towards the docks as quickly and quietly as possible, which was hard to do while having to support Erik's body. We used the alleys instead of the main roads, just in case. As we approached the docks I heard the horn of the boat go off; we were too late they were leaving!

"No, no, no! We didn't make it!

"There is no way in hell I'm giving up now." He said

I could hear the determination in his voice as he stood on his own. He took my hand and we ran towards the docks. The boat was almost all the way out, we ran as fast as possible and when we reached the end Erik lunged for the rope hanging off the boat. He managed to grab it, I on the other hand was nervous to jump off the dock.

"Christine! Grab the rope!" Erik shouted.

"I can't!"

"Dam you woman, just grab the rope!"

I closed my eyes and pushed off the deck. When I felt the rope I wrapped my hands around it. The icy water pricked at my skin, but I was so relieved I had made it that I didn't care. Erik and I climbed the rope onto the deck and collapsed when we made it to the top; we were finally safe.

Once we had our strength back we both stood up and walked over the edge of the boat. Erik put his arm around my waist and we stood together watching Paris fade farther and farther away into the distance.

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** Thanks to all my reader's and an even bigger thank you to all the people who take the time out of their day to leave me a review! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, i'll try to post the next chapter soon and i'll also try to post more often,but I can't make any promises. Thanks again and as always... REVIEW! REVIEW! R.E.V.I.E.W! **


	9. Chapter 9 The Journey

** Hey everyone! Here's another chapter. Enjoy and Review! **

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Christine's POV

Once Paris was completely out of sight Erik and I went down to the lower deck of the boat to find our cabin. The cabin was small, in one corner there was a small shabby bed and a tiny space for our bags; attached to the room was a bathroom. I changed into a clean dress and grabbed a shirt and pants for Erik.

He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed; I tiptoed over to him and started to gently change his clothes. When I lifted him to change his bloody shirt he moaned.

"Sorry."

"Its fine, I'm just very sore." He said wincing as I laid him back down on the bed.

"Is there something I can do to make you feel better?" I asked, still feeling guilty about what had happened to him.

"I am a little thirsty."

"I'll go get you a drink." I said heading toward the door. Now that it was later in the morning there were a few people up and on the deck. I made it to the kitchen, but I had to wait in a small line of people getting breakfast. There was a couple standing in front of me and I didn't notice them until I overheard their conversation.

"So, this place we are headed, Coney Island, what is it like?" the woman asked the man next to her.

"I heard it's like one giant fair, with entertainment, and rides, and even freaks." The man said.

"Freaks?"

"Yes the whole place is full of them, the people don't like them, but there's not much we can do about it so they keep their distance and we keep ours." The man said as they slowly moved to the front of the line, forgetting their conversation.

A place full of freaks? Coney Island sounded like a wonderful place for Erik and I, and best of all there were other freaks there; other people like Erik. My thoughts drifted to Erik and I walking along a beach and he had his mask off, but on one seemed to care, my day dream would have continued if I hadn't been interrupted by the man waiting behind me in line. I asked for a cup of water and hurried back down to Erik to tell him of the good news.

When I entered the cabin I saw Erik was not in bed, and I heard an awful noise coming from the bathroom, inside on the floor I found Erik vomiting into the Chamber pot, his face was all green.

"Are you ok?" I asked as he finished.

"I'm fine, I just have a problem with motion sickness; I've had it ever since I was in that dreadful gypsy cage."

My poor Erik, he had been through so much. I helped him back to bed and gave him the water; it was then that I remembered the good news.

"While I was up on deck I found out where this ship was heading, you're not going to believe where!" I said hardly able to contain my excitement.

"Hm?"

"A place called Coney Island –"

"Coney what?"

"Coney Island, it's like a giant fair with rides and games and all sorts of things, but that's not even the best part! On Coney Island there are people like you!"

"What do you mean?" he asked his tone turning a little angry.

"People who have deformity's like you have, there are a whole bunch of people with odd things about them on Coney so you won't be the only one!"

He leaned back against the bed taking in what I had just told him. "I guess that's good, but there will still be other normal people there to criticize me."

"Don't be so negative, be happy." I said giving him a hug.

The trip was horrible, Erik was sick all the time and I didn't always feel so good either due to the baby so we would mostly lie in bed together. It was boring as well, most of the time we had nothing to do. After another week aboard the ship we finally made it to Coney, but first we had to go through a place called Ellis Island.

Erik had almost all of his strength back and all of the bruises were gone except for a few of the really bad ones that were now just faded, when we docked Erik grabbed our bags and we started off on our tedious examination. We had to stand in a line with thousands of other people for hours just waiting to be examined; I felt bad for Erik having to hold the bags for so long and I offered to take mine, but he refused saying that I was in no condition to do so while I was pregnant.

After about three or four hours we made it to the examination. They had us split into men and Women on opposite sides of the room, Erik became nervous about being alone and seeing a doctor, but I assured him he would be fine.

I headed into my examination and passed perfectly healthy, they did mark me for being pregnant though and told me to find a doctor and see him right away to check up on the baby. I waited for Erik on the other side until he was finished. He came out with his head down as he headed toward me.

"How was it?"

"It was terrible, the man made me take off my mask in front of him and then had to ask me a series of questions about whether my face was contagious or not, it was very embarrassing."

After our examination we had to wait another four hours in another line. When we made it to the front of that one there was a man behind a desk with a huge book.

"Name sir?" he said to Erik

"What?"

"Sir I need your names for you to get into America, we have to keep a record of everyone who comes through here, so your name?" the man said irritated.

"Erik"

"Erik what?"

There was a small pause. "Mulheim"

"All right Erik Mulheim, welcome to America." The man said while writing Erik's name in the big book. "Next!"

I gave the man my name and we were finally able to leave. As we headed towards the exit I turned to Erik

"Mulheim?"

"What?" He seemed distracted.

"I didn't know that was your last name."

"I don't usually use it; I have almost forgotten it myself." He said

"Christine Mulheim" I said testing the name out. "I like it."

Erik smirked at me and just as we were about to leave I heard someone calling my name.

"Christine! Christine!" I spun around and there was Meg and Madam Giry.

Meg ran towards me and gave me a hug that almost sent me to the floor. "I'm so glad you two are safe I didn't think we were going to see you again."

Madam Giry caught up to us and gave Erik and me another hug. "Thank goodness you are safe; when we didn't see you on the boat we thought the worst."

The four of us made our way to town and found a hotel. Erik got us a room across the hall from Meg and Madam Giry. The room was pretty big; the walls were painted an aqua color with some fish on the bathroom walls. There was a bed that matched the walls, and a small table, kitchen, and dresser.

We didn't have that much money, but this was only temporary till Erik and I could find a job and get a place of our own. We decided to go explore Coney Island, The place was amazing, and it had everything I could have dreamed of. As we walked along one of the boardwalks we came across a small church.

"This place is lovely." I said, "It looks like the small church my parents were married in."

"Christine, how about we get married tomorrow?"

"Here? That's a wonderful idea!" I said giving him a hug.

We walked along the boardwalk some more, but now all I could think about was marrying Erik. We passed a small store on the way back to the hotel and I had to stop and stare at the dress in the window. It wasn't anything fancy; it was a long white silk dress that went down to my ankles, and the top had small straps and a ribbon that went around the chest to tie in the back. It was beautiful and simple and when I saw it I knew it would be the perfect thing to marry Erik in, but I didn't want to spend our limited amount money so I silently sighed and kept going.

Erik caught my sigh, turned around back towards the store and bought me the dress, I told him not to, but he insisted. When we made it back to the hotel Erik and I grabbed something to eat and went right to sleep excited for tomorrow.

I woke the next morning in Erik's arms and I thought I was going to spend the whole day with him, but that was not the case. We had told Meg and Madam Giry of our plan the night before and just after we finished breakfast they came storming into our room, handed Erik his tux, and pushed him out the door. They spent the day helping me get ready for the wedding.

"Christine, you look beautiful!" Meg squealed when she had finished.

I looked in the mirror and I had to agree that I looked amazing. The dress that Erik bought me fit like it was made just for me; even with my baby bump it fit perfectly. I left my hair down so it fell across my shoulders and I put on my mother's necklace.

Erik came back to our room just as it was getting dark and I had the satisfaction of seeing his jaw drop when he saw me.

"Mon ange, I have never seen you look so beautiful."

I blushed and gave him a small kiss.

"You look handsome as well." Erik had on one of his tuxes and a cape from his days at the Opera house, his white mask and his Dark wig."

The four of us started to the church and when we got there a priest was waiting.

"Ah, my children, what bring you into the house of god tonight?" he said his voice warming the room.

"We have come to be married." Erik said with pride in his voice.

"Ah! A grand occasion."

"What are your names?"

"I am Erik and this is Christine."

"Well then Erik, Christine, let's get started." The man said motioning us over to him. Meg and Madam Giry both sat in the front.

"Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church."

Erik and I turned toward each other, joining hands.

"I Erik." The priest said.

Erik stared at the priest unsure of what to do.

"Repeat after me, I Erik…"

"I Erik."

"Take Christine…"

"Take Christine."

"To be my lawful wife…"

"To be my lawful wife."

"To have and to hold…"

"To have and to hold."

"From this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…"

"From this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health."

"Until death do us part."

"Until death do us part." Erik finished; there were tears spilling down the side of his face

The priest looked at me and started the same thing.

"I Christine…"

I Christine."

"Take Erik…"

"Take Erik."

"To be my lawful husband…"

"To be my lawful husband."

"To have and to hold…"

"To have and to hold."

"From this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…"

"From this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health."

"Until death do us part."

"Until death do us part." I said smiling at Erik who was now crying tears of joy.

"Now we will exchange the rings." The priest said.

I went first, I pulled out my Fathers wedding band that he had given to me after he passed and slid it onto Erik's finger. Erik pulled the most beautiful ring out of his pocket and slid it onto my finger with his shaking hands; the ring was all silver and had tiny diamonds surrounding a larger diamond in the center. When I saw the ring my eyes watered as well.

"By the Power invested in me I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."

I looked up into Erik's deep blue eyes and he looked back into mine, we slowly leaned toward each other till our lips met in the most passionate kiss I had ever shared with him.

We took our marriage certificate from the priest and we all left the church with Meg and Madam Giry congratulating us. As we stepped outside the church I noticed that the sky was lit up with stars as if the heavens were there to celebrate our marriage. Madam Giry and Meg went back to the hotel and Erik and I decided to stay out for a little and enjoy Coney Island.

We found a nice spot on the beach to sit where we could see all of Coney, the ocean and the stars. We sat together in silence taking it all in; I rested my head on Erik's shoulder.

"Christine," Erik said his voice still shaky from his joy. "You… you have made Erik the Happiest man in the world." I felt his tears hitting the top of my head.

"I have never been so happy in my entire life, I keep thinking this is all just a dream and I'm going to wake up in my bed to utter disappointment."

I then lifted my head and looked at him. "This is no dream, I'm yours forever."

We shared another passionate kiss and started back to the hotel to celebrate our wedding night.

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** Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, i'll post the next one as soon as I can. Don't forget to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **


	10. Chapter 10 Beauty Underneath

** Hey everyone! Here is chapter 10, and check out my new story A Sons Promise, if you like this story you will enjoy that one too! Enjoy and Review! **

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Christine's POV

The next morning I was lying wrapped in Erik's arms. I buried my head into his chest and smelled his wonderful cologne.

"Good morning Mon ange" Erik whispered.

"Good morning my amazing husband." I kiss him on his malformed cheek. "What shall we do today?"

"I have to go find a job." He said getting up. "We need to get a place for us, so no one can just waltz in as they please."

I laughed, while living across the hall from Meg and Madam Giry they just came into our room as they pleased and it drove Erik mad; he always complained about not having enough privacy and I knew he was tired of staying in this hotel.

"Oh, right" I sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I just thought we could spend the first day being husband and wife together."

Erik put on his wig and mask and thought for a moment.

"How about when I come back later I take you out for a special dinner?"

"That's a wonderful idea!"

"Well then I will see you later tonight mon ange." He came over and gave me a quick kiss and was out the door.

I got dressed and decided to go get myself something to eat. I liked being out on the streets without having to be escorted like I was back in Paris, when I was with Raoul he would hardly ever let me go anywhere alone. I wandered the streets checking out all the wonderful shops, I stopped in a small café and bought a croissant and a pastry for later.

I walked along the beach for a little and then went back to the hotel. I hadn't realized before that there was not much to do with Erik gone. I sat down on the bed and read one of the few books Erik had managed to bring with him from his library.

I tried to keep myself busy till Erik got back; I mostly wandered around the hotel. Around 5 I came back and started to get ready.

I looked at myself in the mirror; you could clearly see my baby bump now that I was three months along. I slid on my green dress and grabbed one of Erik's shirts out of his bag. I stuck it under my dress where the baby was and looked in the mirror again. I was lost in my own head so I didn't hear Erik come in.

"Christine? What are you doing?"

I spun around and my face turned red.

"I just wanted to see what I would look like when I got bigger." I said taking the shirt out and handing it back to him.

He chuckled and kissed me on the top of my head.

"Erik are you ok?" I didn't notice it before, but he looked very stressed and tired. "Did you find a job?"

"I'm fine, and yes I have found a job."

"What is it?"

"I was hired to do magic tricks for a fair attraction, let's be on our way." He said changing the subject.

I had a feeling there was something he wasn't telling me, but I didn't want to anger him and ruin the evening so I let it go.

We found a nice restaurant and went inside. The woman who seated us gave Erik a strange look because he had his mask and wig on. A lot of other people gave him looks as well, but he just ignored them. It bothered me that people could be so rude.

I tried to focus on my menu, but many people kept glancing our way and it was making me feel irritated.

"We can go somewhere else if you want to." I said to Erik.

He put down his menu and stared at me. "Is there something wrong here?"

"No, I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Why can't people just stop staring?"

"Christine, I have been dealing with people staring at me my whole life, I'm a freak, and how can they not stare?"

"You're not a freak, and it's still rude."

I could tell we were being treated differently than any other customer in the place. The waitress avoided our table for as long as she could before coming back to ask us what we wanted. Erik ordered some pork meal and I got the same thing. While we were waiting I noticed a couple sitting diagonally from us; they kept staring and whispering about us until I had finally had enough.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to stare?" I asked them irritated "and that goes for everyone else here too."

Everyone stopped staring at us and looked away. I felt Erik touch my hand.

"Thank you, no one has ever done that for me before." He said.

"You are a person too and people should treat you just as they would treat anyone else."

We finished our meal and left. I wanted to go walk down on the beach, but Erik was tired and he had work tomorrow so we headed back to the hotel.

I was making dinner for Erik and me the next day when he came in looking completely exhausted; there were also a couple of scrapes on his face and his clothes were torn.

"Erik! What happened?" are you ok?" I went to the bathroom and got a cloth to wipe his dirty face.

"I'm fine; it was just a hard day at work."

"I know you lying to me now tell me what is going on."

"Nothing now stop pestering me about this." He said walking toward the bathroom.

"Erik I'm your wife just tell me what's happening."

"Damn you woman! Nothing is going on so just leave me be!" He slammed the door to the bathroom shut. I set the table for dinner annoyed that he couldn't just give me an answer, why did he always have to be so stubborn?

The silence at the table was strange compared to our usual dinner chatter. Erik quickly finished his meal and went off to write his music. I cleaned up and felt tired so I went to bed.

I wasn't sure what time it was when I got up the next morning, but Erik was gone so it had to be on the later side. I thought about going to find him and apologizing, but decided to let him blow off some more steam. I always hated when we fought.

When he came home later he seemed just as tired and this time he had a big gash across his shoulder.

"Erik, please tell me what's going on, I'm so worried about you." I moved my hand toward his arm, but he pulled away.

"Do I have to tell you everything! There was just a small accident at work today, he said tossing the money he made onto the table.

"Stop worrying and stay out of my business you little viper!"

"I'm just trying to look out for you!"

This happened for another few days, Erik would come home hurt in some way and then we would fight about it. He also began to have nightmares again and when I would try to get him to tell me what they were about he would yell at me. I promised myself that I was going to get down to the bottom of this, there was something he wasn't telling me and I was going to find out what.

The next day a little while after Erik left for work I got dressed and tried to find him. I started at the beginning of the board walk looking for any sign of Erik. I got later and Later and I still had not found him. I was about to go back to the hotel when I noticed a large crowd headed toward one of the tents in the far corner of the carnival. As I got closer I saw a sign across the tent, "Freakish Wonders" I quickly ran inside and pushed my way through the crowd. I prayed that my suspicion was a wrong, but I was right.

There was Erik surrounded by a crowd of people while he tried to do magic tricks, but people weren't there to see his tricks they were there to hurt him. They were throwing rocks and trash at my angel while calling him awful names. It broke my heart to see him treated like this; no one knew what a sweet man Erik was and here they were harming him.

Someone then threw a rock that sent his mask flying off of his face. My hand flew to my mouth, I heard some people laugh, others scream, and a few who called out more horrible names. Erik placed his hand over the deformed side of his face and bent down to grab his mask. A man came out from the far end of the crowd and kicked Erik in the stomach.

That was all I could take, I shoved my way past the people to where Erik was now laying.

"Stop it! Stop!" I screamed as I ran toward him. People started to quite down, soon the whole tent was silent.

"You are all awful! Leave him alone, he has done nothing, but try to entertain you and this is how you treat him!"

"Christine?" I heard him say surprised that I had found him.

I bent down to help Erik up when a man came out of the back of the tent with a few other odd people following him.

"What is going on out here!" the man yelled. "Who stopped my show?"

I stood back up as the man approached us. "So you're the man who hired my husband?" I asked angrily.

"Lady, I think your mistaken I only hire Freaks here." The man said sweeping his hand toward the people behind him. "Now if you looking for someone as your husband I can be of service."

Erik growled and I slapped the man across the face.

"My husband is the one here that is being mistreated by your customers." I said pointing to Erik "Is this the way you let people treat all your employee's because I think you are despicable!"

The man grabbed my wrist and twisted it; I yelped in pain. "I will treat my workers however I want to treat them and I most certainly will not have some filthy woman coming in here and ruining my business!"

He continued to twist my wrist and I tried to pull away, the pain was becoming excruciating. Erik tried to get up and help me, but the man kicked him again. I thought he was going to break my arm, but one of the other workers standing behind the owner pushed him to the ground. I helped Erik up and we both went back to the hotel.

I laid Erik on the bed and made him some tea, when it was finished I brought him a cup and sat next to him.

"Drink this, it will sooth your chest. It must be in pain those men kicked you pretty hard."

Erik took the cup from me and slowly sipped the sweet mixture.

"How did you find me?"

"I knew something was wrong when you started coming home hurt everyday so I searched all over Coney for you. Why didn't you tell me what was going on? Why did you keep working there?"

"The money was good and we needed it. I knew you would be upset if I told you what was going on so I tried to keep you from knowing, that's why I was so harsh with you all the time."

Erik was so kind he would always put me and the baby before himself; I was so touched I started crying.

"Christine, Erik is sorry he didn't mean to make you upset, Erik is a monster he has made his wife angry and sad." Tears formed in his eyes.

"I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"No, I couldn't have asked for a better husband. You put your family before anything, even your own life, I just don't want you doing that ever again, if I lost you I don't know what I would do." I said still crying.

"Erik promises to never do that again."

He had finished his tea and as I went to take his cup he grabbed my arm to look at my wrist. It was in a lot of pain, but I had been so worried about Erik I had just ignored it; it was all purple and swollen, I could barely move it.

"This is what he did to you?" His voice was hard and tensed as he tried to keep his anger down.

"It's nothing I'm fine."

"Christine, you can hardly move it."

"I said its fine." Erik reached for my arm and grabbed my wrist instead. I let out a sharp breath and pulled away.

He grabbed my arm this time, ripped a long piece of his shirt, and gently began to wrap it tight around my wrist. When he finished he kissed it, then I kissed him on his malformed cheek. He pulled me closer to him and kissed my lips. My hands began to move over his chest.

"Christine" he moaned.

He went to remove my dress when there was a knock at the door.

Erik groaned as I got up to answer the door. I expected it to be Meg or Madam Giry, but it was the odd people from the tent earlier today, I recognized the man who had helped us.

"Hello, I don't mean to bother you," the man said. "I just wanted to thank you for standing up for us today."

"Oh it was no trouble at all, people like that are just awful."

"I'm Mr. Squelch, this is Dr. Gangle, and that is Miss Fleck."

"It's nice to meet you all, won't you come in?"

"No it's late, we just wanted to thank you, hope to see you around."

"You too." I said smiling. I shut the door and went back to Erik.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"The people who worked with you came to thanks us. They are all so sweet it's awful they are treated so badly by everyone around here, I wish there was some place where they wouldn't have to worry about being judged."

There was a small pause. "That's it! Christine your brilliant!"

"I am? What's it?"

"Grab me a pencil and some sheets of paper, oh and something to lean on."

I did ask he asked and watched him get right to work, I tried to stay awake, but sleep got the better of me. It was about three in the morning when I was awakened by Erik.

"Here take a look at this!" he said shoving sheets of paper at me.

I took them and flipped through each one, most of them were ride designs, and one was of a few shops, an opera house, and finally what looked like a flat. The last picture was of all of it together; it was amazing.

"This is beautiful, but what is all this?"

"An amusement park that I am going to build as a safe place for oddities. It just needs a name."

I sat thinking of a name.

"What about Phantom's Park?" he asked

"Hmm, it doesn't have that special ring to it." Then it hit me, the perfect name for Erik's park.

"Phantasma"

"What?"

"Phantasma!"

Erik pause thinking the name over "Phantasma, city of wonder."

"I'll start on it tomorrow!"

I smiled and rested my head on Erik's lap, thinking about Phantasma.

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** Thanks to all the people who continue to read and review! Please REVIEW and look out for the next chapter! **


	11. Chapter 11 City of Wonder

**Hey everyone! Here is another chapter, enjoy and don't forget to review! **

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Christine's POV

Just as Erik had said he started work on Phantasma the very next day. Within the first week he had already bought the property and had begun to build. Things started off shaky, but that didn't stop Erik. He hired the three oddities who had worked with him and a whole bunch of other acts and attractions for Phantasma. It soon became the talk of the town and so did Erik; now going by Mister E.

As the months wore on Phantasma began to grow and so did our life together. After a few weeks we moved out of the hotel and into the flat that Erik had designed for us; the place was perfect, there was a large room that had a kitchen and table on one side and on the other there was a fireplace a rug and some chairs in front of it. My favorite part was all the way on the other side of the room, there was a brand new piano and behind it was a large window that almost stretched across the whole wall; through it you could see all of Phantasma! There was a nice bath room and our room had our bed and an armoire that Erik had specifically chosen for us. There was one final room in the house that was my favorite. Erik had kept this room a surprise and when he had finished he blindfolded me and brought me into the room, when he pulled the blindfold away I gasped in awe at the radiant nursery Erik had designed. Across the wall were music notes that would flow from one wall to the next, there was a beautiful crib, and plenty of toys. After seeing all of Erik's work I knew I was going to love living here.

Day by day Phantasma grew and so did our child. Now six months pregnant I was beginning to feel rundown again. It started off with just being more tired, but soon I began to feel sick and I found myself with constant stomach pains and vomiting. Erik had convinced me to go see a doctor.

We sat in the waiting room together while I filled out the necessary information. When I finished I turned it into the nurse and was told to wait till the doctor called me in. I went and sat back down next to Erik while rubbing my stomach.

"Christine, is everything ok?" Erik asked.

"I'm just a little nervous. What if we find out something is wrong with the baby? What if I did something wrong and now our baby is hurt?" I said my eyes filling with tears; I had become an emotional wreck over the past couple of weeks.

"You haven't done anything wrong, if anything it's my horrid genes that are hurting our baby and making you so sick." He said wiping a tear off my cheek.

"Christine Mulheim?" the nurse called.

Erik and I stood up and made our way into the small office. Inside we met Dr. Lang, he seemed very kind, even to Erik; the mask didn't even faze him.

"What can I do for you two today he asked?"

"My wife has been feeling sick lately and we wanted to make sure the baby was ok." Erik told him rudely; he didn't like doctors.

Dr. Lang smiled ignoring Erik's tone, "Alright we will just run a few tests then and see if there is a problem." The doctor gave me a normal check up and then checked the baby. He drew some blood, did a few more tests, and told us he would be back in a little bit. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"God, how long is he going to make us wait!" Erik shouted.

"I don't know, is there something wrong?"

"I hate doctors, all their poking and prodding, and besides that my mask is giving my face the worst pain imaginable right now."

"Let me see"

He moved toward me with his back to the door and carefully pulled off his mask. His malformed skin looked raw and irritated. "The cold weather has been making it dry."

"Maybe we should ask the doctor if he has anything to help your face." I suggested.

"No! I will not have that man staring at me like everyone else does." He shouted.

I became silent and a few minutes later the doctor returned. The look on his face told me something was wrong.

"I checked all the tests and unfortunately, I have some bad news." He said.

I began crying and Erik grasped my hand.

"Your baby is sick, we are not exactly sure what it has, but most likely your child will be born early. You are going to need to be careful because any stress will cause you to go into labor."

There was something wrong with my child? I was devastated; if anything happened to our child I would never forgive myself. I felt the tears sliding down my cheek and I buried my head into Erik's shirt.

"Isn't there anything you can do? You're a doctor for god's sake!" Erik shouted.

"No there is nothing I can do. The best way to help the situation is to keep your wife calm and stress free."

We were about to leave the office when I stopped.

"Um one more thing, my husband's face has been bothering him and we were wondering if there was anything that you could give him to sooth it." I said finally calming down.

Erik gave me a nasty look.

"Well I assume you mean the side covered by his mask so if you want me to take a look I need you to remove the mask."

"No thank you." Erik said trying to leave.

"Please let him look at it Erik, it will make me feel a lot better."

Erik sighed and took off his mask, to our surprise the doctor wasn't bothered by Erik's face.

Seeing our confused faces the doctor laughed. "Please don't feel uncomfortable, I have seen things much worse than this I happen to be the only doctor on Coney who will treat oddities. I think I have just the thing for your skin."

Dr. Lang opened one of the drawers and pulled out a small bottle. "Apply this to your face every night and it will keep your face from hurting."

We thanked him and went back to the flat.

I tried to talk to Erik but he seemed angry so I let him be.

"I have to go check up on some things for the opera house." He said to me.

"Can I come?"

"If you want to."

Erik was planning to open Phantasma by the middle of the summer, but things had run behind schedule and now he was going to have to wait till spring; any day now all of Coney was expecting snow.

I followed him to the opera house; it was so amazing, even more beautiful than the one in Paris. Here Erik was going to have amazing shows, so far he had Miss Fleck, Mr. Squelch, and Meg all performing for him.

We made our way up to the stage and I looked out at all the empty seats. Closing my eyes I remember the feeling of being on stage; part of me missed it, but I had decided that while the baby was little I was not going to perform.

"Have you found a final act yet?" I asked Erik while he fiddled with some of the ropes for the curtains.

"No, but it's not like I need to hire anyone anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Well once the baby is born I won't need a finishing act because I'll have you."

I hadn't told him yet that I wasn't going to perform till the baby was older. "Erik, I'm not going to perform once the baby is born."

He stopped fiddling with the ropes and turned to me confused. "Of course you are."

"I don't want to, I want to spend some time at home with our child and then I can go back when I feel ready."

"Christine you are my star, you don't want to sing for me anymore?"

"I do, just not as soon as the baby is born."

"I need another act! You're just going to quit on me! You little viper, I give you this life and this is how you repay me, by refusing to sing for me!" he screamed.

"Erik just calm down…"

"I will not be told what to do, go home and leave me alone." He snarled

I left Erik to his work and went back to the flat. I knew the real reason he was upset was because of the baby, but he didn't have to be so mean. As I made my way home I heard someone call my name.

"Christine!"

I turned to see Meg heading toward me.

"Hello Meg, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not really sure; my mother said that Erik had wanted to see me so I came over." She said pulling a cigarette out of her bag.

"Oh well I'd be careful today he is in an awful mood. I think the stress has gotten to him so I would suggest not doing anything to make him lose his temper, like smoking, you know how much he hates that habit of yours."

She sighed and put the cigarette away. "I'll see you later then; I don't want to be late."

She hurried off toward the opera house and I continued back to the flat. I sat around the house for most of the day, but by the late afternoon I became bored so I decided to go to the Phantasma Library till Erik came home.

One of my favorite places in all of Phantasma was the library. Erik had managed to collect an immense amount of wonderful books from all over town, the walls were lined with them, and I headed up the stairs to where some of my favorite books were. I picked one out, sat in one of the many cozy chairs and started reading.

I guess I had been more tired than I thought because I had started reading and ended up falling asleep. When I woke up the whole library was dark. I looked outside and saw that it was dark, a huge blizzard was underway and all of Phantasma was covered in a thick blanket of snow. I put the book away and checked the time on the old clock in the corner.

It was already 2 am; Erik must be worried about me. I was hesitant about going out into the storm, but I wasn't too far from the flat so I decide to go. When I stepped outside I pulled my cloak closer to me; it was freezing out here.

Making it back to the flat was harder than I had thought. I started in the right direction, but the wind and snow had become so fierce that I could barely see a thing in front of me. I kept moving and became worried when I realized that I had been walking for too long.

I spun around searching for any signs as to where I was. It was no use I couldn't see a thing through the storm. It was getting colder by the second and I knew I had to find shelter and fast. I kept moving to stay warm until I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I groaned and sat in the snow trying to stay warm and stop myself from panicking.

I wanted to keep going, but the pain became worse and worse. I was not dress for this type of weather and there was no way I was going to be able to survive out here for the night, but how would I find shelter if I couldn't walk. As I sat in the snow crying over my pain my thoughts turned to Erik, was he worried? Was he looking for me? I kept wishing that I had just stayed in the library for the night; it was stupid for me to try to make it home.

The pain became worse and I was terrified that there was something wrong with my child. I had never been in so much pain in my entire life. I thought I was in the worst position possible, but I was wrong because a few minutes later my water broke.

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**Sorry to leave you guys on a cliffy, i'll try to post as soon as I can. Thanks for reading, dont forget to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **


	12. Chapter 12 Lost

** Hey everyone! Here is the chapter you have all been waiting for! I would have had it up sooner, but my internet was down for like an hour anyway i'll stop and let you get to the story! Enjoy and Review!**

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Christine's POV

I had never been so terrified in my entire life. There was absolutely no way that I was going to give birth in the middle of a blizzard all alone, but despite my rejections the baby was coming.

I took off my red cloak and laid it on the snow then I laid down on top of it; I was even colder without it, but if I had to have my baby I was going to be sure that it wasn't going to freeze.

I wasn't sure how long I had been laying down when my first contraction started, I had thought I was in pain before, but this was a thousand times worse. I screamed over the wind as I felt the pain. All I wanted was for Erik to be here and to help me, but I was alone and I was terrified.

As another contraction hit me I ran my hands through my wet snow covered curls trying to come up with a plan. I had never seen a child being born before and this being my first I had no idea what to expect or to do; I mean I was only 16 and I was all alone.

I prayed to god and to my father to help me, but minutes became longer and more contractions came and went and there was still no help.

I laid back in defeat not being able to continue any longer; I let my head fall into the snow and continued to cry. I was such an idiot; the doctor had told me to stay away from stress and what had I done, tried to walk home through a blizzard! I closed my eyes imagining Erik's voice helping me through this.

"Christine! Christine!"

I could hear his voice so clearly…

"Christine!"

My eyes shot open, I had heard it again, and it wasn't in my head! Erik was out here looking for me!

"Erik!" I screamed over the wind.

I screamed his name again and paused to see if he had heard me. When I heard nothing I started crying again thinking that he had already gone, but suddenly there was a light that moved through the snowy darkness and that's when I saw Erik running towards me. I had never been so happy to see him in my entire life.

"Christine!" He called seeing me laying the snow. He ran to me, bent down with me in the snow and kissed my frozen lips.

"Come on we have to get you out of the cold, your skin is deathly pale." He shouted over the wind.

"I can't!" I wailed while tears continued to flow from my eyes.

"Why not? Are you hurt?"

"My water broke."

The color drained from Erik's face. "How long ago?"

"I don't know"

"Guess!"

"I don't know!" I screamed as another contraction hit me; I grabbed Erik's hand and squeezed it as tight as possible; he looked scared and unsure of what to do which made me more nervous.

"Sir did you find her?" I heard Mr. Squelch call out,

"Yes, hurry and get Dr. Lang now!"

I heard him take off in the other direction towards town.

Erik turned back towards me; he carefully lifted me off the ground and cradled me in his arms trying to keep me warm. I must have been freezing because Erik's skin which usually felt as cold as ice was now as warm as the sun.

"I'm so sorry." I cried burying my face into Erik's shirt.

"It's ok; you are going to be ok." Erik said hugging me closer to his body.

I wasn't sure how long it had been, but after a while Mr. Squelch came back with Dr. Lang.

"What is going on here?" he asked.

"I got lost out here and my water broke!" I wailed.

"How long ago and how long have you been out here for?"

"I don't know."

"Well we can't do anything until we know how long it is going to be till the child is born, we will have to wait for another contraction."

This isn't how I wanted this to be, I just wanted to go home and cuddle with Erik in our warm cozy bed. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for fighting with him earlier, but I didn't have the strength to. It didn't take too long for another contraction to hit and each one was worse than the one before.

"That was only about 4 minutes, 3 really. The baby is coming too soon to move you without have a huge risk of injuring either of you; we have no choice but to deliver here."

"No, no, no, no!" I began crying again "I can't do it!" I was cold, tired, and in unbearable pain. There was no way I could have this child here.

"It's going to be ok Christine." Dr. Lang said while taking his coat off and getting ready.

"No, Erik please tell him there's time, Erik take me home! Please!" I was completely distraught and had totally lost it.

Erik's blue eyes stared back into mine, he had a tortured look on his face, he wanted to obey my request and take away my pain, but he knew he could not. "I…I can't…"

We sat out in the snow for a little longer, I kept begging them to take me home, but no one listened. Finally it was time for the baby to be born.

"Christine when I tell you to push I want you to push as hard as you can, ok?"

"I can't, I'm so tired." I whimpered.

Erik looked at me again and shook off his pain. "Christine, listen to me" the power in his voice caught my attention. "You are the strongest person I know, you loved me when no one else in this world could, if you can do that you can do anything and I'll be right here with you the whole time. So are you ready  
?"

I nodded; Erik's words had inspired me to keep going for him and for our child. He laid me back down on my cloak, kissed me, and took my hand.

"Ok Christine, push."

I pushed as hard as I could while Dr. Lang and Erik encouraged me.

"It's almost here, one more"

One last push and everything stopped; all I heard was the sound of our baby crying and as if by magic its crying sounded like an angel's song.

"It's a girl!" said wiping her off.

Erik ripped off his cloak and handed it to Dr. Lang so he could wrap our daughter in it.

A girl, I had a daughter. I laughed as I realized that it was over.

Dr. Lang handed her to Erik and I saw him cry as he held our daughter for the first time. I wanted to ask for her, but I was so tired that getting out the simplest sentence was hard.

"I want to hold her." I said

"Christine, she's beautiful," Erik said handing her to me.

Erik was right she was the most beautiful child I had ever seen: she had my soft dark brown hair, her skin was a pink color and her cheeks had an extra pink tint as if she were wearing blush, she had a beautiful round face, Erik's blue eyes, and on her right cheek was a small red mark that looked a little like a kiss.

"She's perfect."

We would have probably stayed like this forever if Dr. Lang hadn't interrupted us.

"Um Erik we need to get Christine inside now."

Erik faced suddenly looked distressed, he quickly took our daughter from me despite my protests. He handed her to Dr. Lang and I tried to ask what was going on, but I felt lightheaded.

Erik then picked me up and started carrying me back toward the flat; as we moved away from where I had been laying I saw why Erik and Dr. Lang had suddenly become so distressed; there was a large puddle of blood where I had just been laying.

When we finally made it home Erik placed me on the bed and took our daughter while Dr. Lang took care of me.

I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, but Dr. Lang told me I couldn't fall asleep yet.

He stopped the bleeding and wiped up the blood. Then he checked my body and asked me to tell him if I felt any pain; I felt ok, just very numb and tired. A little while later Erik came back into the room with almost every blanket in the house and they began to cover me with them.

"How is she doing?" he asked.

"Well everything has been a huge toll on her, she lost a lot of blood and has a chance of coming down with pneumonia or any other infection. I can't say how she is going to be right now, but she is going to need plenty of rest and she won't be able to get out of bed till I come back to check up on her in a few days."

"I'll be sure she is well taken care of." Erik said as Dr. Lang left.

After showing Dr. Lang out Erik came over to my bedside and wrapped his arms around my body. "Christine, I thought I had lost you."

"I'm so sorry about earlier, I love you." I sniveled.

"I love you too and I'm sorry, it was my fault, if we hadn't of fought you would have been with me instead of in the storm."

I stayed wrapped in his embrace for a while and he tried to ask me more about what happened, but my eye lids became heavy. He stopped and pulled the covers closer to my chin.

I was almost asleep when Erik kissed me on the lips.

"Get some sleep Mon ange." He whispered as I finally fell into a dreamless slumber.

I was woken up another hour or two later by the sound of cries from the other room. Erik was asleep next to me and I hated to wake him up, but I had no choice.

"Erik, get up."

He groaned.

"Erik you have to get up, the baby is crying and I can't go get her."

He rolled out of bed and left the room returning a minute later with our crying daughter. He turned on the light and handed her to me.

She was as beautiful as I remembered and Erik had put her in one of the soft pink dresses we had bought. I cradled her in my arms and softly hushed her back to sleep. When she was asleep again I looked up to see Erik giving me a strange look.

"What?" I asked him.

"It's just odd, seeing you with a child, _our_ child. You're so good with her."

I blushed and motioned for Erik to come sit next to us. I rested my head on his chest and we stared at our little girl.

"She doesn't have a name yet. Erik will you name her?"

He looked at me surprised, "You want me to name her?"

"Of course, you are her father."

He rubbed her tiny fingers and stared at her for a while.

"Aria, Aria Mulheim."

"Oh Erik that's a beautiful name, Aria Anneli Mulheim"

"Anneli?"

"It was my mother's name" I said.

I didn't want to put Aria down, but I was tired again so Erik took her back to the nursery and came back to lay with me as I fell asleep.

The next couple days passed smoothly, I was very sore from the snow storm and having Aria so I wasn't allowed to get up from bed for fear that I would be sick or cause another injury. I mostly slept and took care of Aria while Erik took care of the both of us. Dr. Lang came back to check us Aria and me and Erik and I signed the birth certificate.

Everything was finally perfect; I had everything I always wanted and with Christmas just around the corner I couldn't wait to spend the holidays with my family.

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** Thanks for reading and a big thanks to all my loyal fans who continue to read and review, luv u guys! I hope to have the next chapter up this weekend, but I can't promise you anything cause I have homecoming and halloween horror night! thanks for reading and please REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13 Merry Christmas

** Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was busy working on my other story A Sons Promise. Enjoy the chapter and dont forget to review :) **

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Christine's POV

After a few days I began to feel better, I was just more tired than usual because Aria hardly ever slept through the night. I would always end up in her room asleep on the rocking chair with her in my arms. Being with Aria left me little time to do other things like get decorations for Christmas and find Erik a gift. It had been sometime since Erik and I had had any alone time together. He was usually too busy keeping up Phantasma and I had Aria, and now he was busy setting up a Christmas Eve masquerade ball to give people a first glimpse of Phantasma.

It was early one morning a few days before Christmas that I decided to sneak out and get some shopping done. I told Erik that I was leaving Aria with him and he said it would be fine. I grabbed my red cloak and headed out the door.

I loved walking along the snowy streets of Coney, Everything looked so beautiful decorated for Christmas; it was a winter wonderland. I first went into a clothing store and bought some red material to make Aria a Christmas dress. Then I headed over to a small gift shop to buy some decorations for the flat and the tree; Erik had promised me that we could go get a tree later and that we would decorate it together. I found a couple of boxes and sorted through the red and green tinsel to find some other decorations. Once I had enough, I purchased them and was off to find Erik a present.

I wanted to get him something special, he had done so much for me and I wanted to show him my appreciation. I went from store to store, but nothing seemed right for Erik. I searched high and low and could not find him the perfect gift. It wasn't until I reached the stationary store that I found Erik's gift, in the window there was a rack of brand new sets of pens, they were high quality and would last a long time. Erik was always complaining about how using his ink and quill was so time consuming and now he would have new pens to write his beautiful music. I also bought him a new set of sheets to write his music on.

I had expected the flat to be just as I had left it this morning, but when I came back a few hours later I was surprised. I heard the sounds of Aria crying in the nursery so I tossed Erik's gift under our bed and hurried in to see Erik walking about the room with Aria in his arms trying to calm her.

"Calm down!" he said his voice tensed which made her cry even harder.

I moved to him and he pushed her toward me. I shushed her and Erik ran his hands through his wig as he moved past me into the other room; a few minutes later I heard the sound of the piano being played. I placed Aria in her crib and went to talk to Erik.

I sat next to him on the bench and massaged his shoulders.

"She can be quite a handful."

He shook me off and started to walk away.

"Erik, what is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong is that I scare my daughter!"

"That's not true."

"It is, I can't hold her without her bursting into tears. You can hold her and she immediately calms down! I shouldn't even be allowed to hold her." He moved quickly about the room, grabbed one of the dishes on the counter, and smashed it against the wall. He then moved into our bed room and sat down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

I went and sat next to him and rubbed his back. "Of course you should be able to hold her, why shouldn't you? You're her father."

He lifted his head; his eyes were filled with tears. "But she is so small and fragile; a monster like Erik would surely hurt her."

"Is that what has you so upset you think you are going to hurt her? Don't be silly you would never be able to harm her in any way."

"Oh Christine I already have!" he moaned. "That mark on her cheek is from my horrid genes, she is scarred because of me. I understand if you hate me."

"I don't hate you, and you know what I like that mark."

"You do?"

"Yes, it looks like a kiss; a kiss from an angel." I lifted his face and placed a kiss on his lips.

The rest of the day was full of Christmas cheer, Erik and I went and bought a beautiful tree and once it was back at the flat he helped me decorate it with all the wonderful decorations I had found. Now with the flat decorated, it really felt like Christmas and I could hardly wait for the wonderful surprises of Christmas Eve.

I woke up early the next morning and wrapped Erik's gifts; I placed them under the tree and went to start breakfast. Soon the flat was filled with the scent of cinnamon as I mixed the dough for the cinnamon rolls; the smell reminded me of my father and how we used to make them together every Christmas Eve.

I felt someone wrap their arms around my waist as I stirred the dough.

"Good morning Christine." Erik whispered in his most seductive voice.

I turned my head upward and kissed him. "Good morning Erik."

He spun me around and we began to kiss each other passionately, we would have continued, but Aria started crying.

I went to get her as Erik finished the cinnamon rolls. Everything was perfect; we spent the day as a family laughing and spending time together until the ball.

I was in the nursery dressing Aria; I had made her a gorgeous red dress with shiny sequins at the bottom. I also made her a small bow to match and a tiny soft mask. She was so beautiful I scooped her up and snuggled her close to me.

"Christine? Can you come here for a second?" Erik called out.

I stepped into the living room and was surprised to find him standing there with a package in his hand. He was all dressed for the ball in his black tux with a red cummerbund. He had on a red mask and his dark wig.

"I know we agreed to wait to give each other gifts until later, but I want you to open this now so you can use it."

I took the package and gasped at the beautiful gift. Inside was a deep red ball gown that glistened in the light, there was also a red and black mask with music notes along the sides.

"Erik it's beautiful!" I said giving him a hug. "This must have cost you a fortune; you didn't have to get me something so beautiful."

"The real beauty will be seeing you in it."

I kissed him and then handed Aria to him so I could go get dressed. The dress fit me perfectly and so did the mask. I fixed my hair and put on my red hair piece and matching earrings.

I came out and laughed when I saw Erik's jaw drop.

"Mon ange, I have never seen you look so beautiful, well except for on our wedding day."

I blushed. Erik held out his arm, I took it and we made our way to the concert hall for the ball.

The room was beautiful; it was adorned with Christmas decorations. Silver and gold tables were placed around the room with red and green candles on each one, silver tinsel was wrapped around the large stair case, and blue, red and green stars shone on the ceiling as couples danced to jolly Christmas music.

"Erik, this place looks so nice." I gushed as we stepped inside. I glanced around the room and headed toward Meg and Madam Giry. Meg had her hair pulled up into a bun; she had on a skimpy light green dress with a matching mask shaped like leaves. Madam Giry had her hair in a braid, and she wore a long black gown with a small mask to match.

"Oh Christine! The baby is so beautiful!" Meg gasped as she put out her cigarette and came over to see her.

"She looks so much like Erik" Madam Giry said. "I heard about what happened how are you doing Christine?"

"I'm fine now, thanks." I smiled as Meg and Madam Giry swooned over Aria.

"Erik are you alright?" I asked him. He seemed very nervous and uncomfortable.

"Yes…it's just that, this is my first time I have ever attended a masquerade ball with a date. Usually I would never go to these sorts of things so I'm just not sure what to do really."

"You will love it, and now you do have a date."

"Just promise Erik that you won't leave him alone."

"I promise."

He smiled at me, just then a slow song came on and Erik held out his hand for me to dance with him.

"I would love to, but Aria…"

Erik shifted uncomfortably, and I apologized. Then Meg came up behind me and practically stole Aria out of my arms.

"Go, enjoy yourselves! You need it before this cutie gets any bigger and you two have no time for each other." She said walking away with Aria.

I started to protest, but Erik gently pulled me away toward the dance floor. We waltzed together just like old times, it felt so wonderful, but I couldn't stop glancing over at Meg over Erik's shoulder.

"Christine, relax she will be fine."

"I know, Meg is my best friend, but I don't know if I can trust her with Aria."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

We heard people clapping and cheering and we turned to see Meg holding Aria out to a whole crowd of people. Erik and I both started laughing.

"That's what can happen" I said between giggles.

We continued to sway to the music and I rested my head on Erik's shoulder. I loved dancing with him, when I had gone to the masquerade balls with Raoul he would quickly dance with me to one song and the rest of the night he would talk to people introducing me and then forgetting about me two seconds later, but this, this was how it was supposed to be.

We heard the cheering again and this time Meg was spinning Aria around. I pulled away from Erik and went to get her. I quickly took her back and made sure she was ok. Erik came over and placed his arm around my waist.

"Oh Christine…" Meg said in a sing song voice looking up.

I did the same and then noticed the mistletoe hanging above us. I turned toward Erik and passionately kissed him. He then kissed his daughter on the cheek and I did the same.

We spent the rest of the night dancing and laughing together and once it was over we stepped outside to see a beautiful new snow falling and sparkling in the moonlight. I held Aria and Erik took me by the arm as we walked together through the snow back to the flat.

Once we were home I laid our sleeping baby in her crib and went to exchange gifts with Erik.

We sat by the tree as I handed him his gifts. He first opened the pens and music sheets, thanking me for the wonderful gifts. Then I gave him his final gift. It was a heart shaped card that I had made for him. Inside was a picture of our family that he had drawn and I had written something for him. He sat and read the card aloud:

_My darling Erik, _

_My angel of music, you have brought the light into my life and made my spirits soar. Every day I thank my father for sending you to me many years ago. You have been my angel, my friend, my love, and now my husband and I could never have asked for a better one. I love you with all my heart and wish you a Merry Christmas!_

When he finished reading he had tears running down the sides of his face.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, please forgive me." I scooted over next to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm not upset Christine."

"You're not? Then why are you crying?"

"No one has ever given me such a wonderful gift or even said anything that nice to me before. Even my own mother felt like I was too much of a monster to deserve anything for Christmas, but you, you have given me the best gift of all; my first real Christmas."

I was surprised; I had no idea that he had never celebrated Christmas before.

"And now my final gift to you", he said pulling out a small box from under the tree.

"Erik, you already gave me my gifts."

"Ah, but I had to save one for you to open later and I saved the best one for last."

I took the small box and took the lid off. Inside was an elegant necklace, it had a rose made out of rubies and Emeralds on a gold chain.

"Erik this is amazing." I said in awe; it was so beautiful.

"Look at the back."

I turned over the rose and saw something etched into it.

"Mon amour éternel" I read aloud.

"My eternal love" he said. "This rose will never die, just like my love for you."

"Oh Erik! I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Will you put it on me?"

I lifted my hair so Erik could take the necklace and hook it around my neck. "I'm never taking this off. Thank you Erik."

I took his face and gently pulled off his mask and wig. I then kissed him, he wrapped his arms around me and moaned "oh Christine."

He picked me up and carried me to our bed. I removed his shirt and he removed my dress. It had been a while since Erik and I had made love and it was just as wonderful as I remembered it. Erik's touch was one of the best feelings I had ever experienced.

"Christine." Erik called out just as we finished. I lay wrapped in his arms as we watched the snowflakes falling outside. I heard the clock chime twelve.

"Merry Christmas Erik."

"Merry Christmas Christine."

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** Fulffy chapter! Thanks for reading and thanks to all the people who take the time to review! Luv you all! I will post the next chapter as soon as possible, there will be a jump in time,but i'm not sure how much yet. If anyone has any suggestions or idea's for my story feel free to add them in your review or Pm them to me (I prefer you Pm them so you dont give away the story :) ) thanks again and PLEASE REVIEW! **


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